The development of adaptive and maladaptive patterns of Internet

Transcrição

SI-2010-KEP-4101007
EU NET ADB
http://www.eunetadb.eu
The development of adaptive and maladaptive patterns of Internet use
among European adolescents at risk for Internet Addictive Behaviours:
A Grounded Theory inquiry
Deliverable
D5: Qualitative Analysis-R
Dissemination level
Public
Delivery date
Status
Author(s)
Original version submitted: November 3rd, 2012
Revised version: July 19th, 2013
Final
Dreier, M1., Tzavela, E2., Wölfling, K1.,
Mavromati, F2., Duven, E1., Karakitsou, Ch3.,
Macarie, G4., Veldhuis, L5., Wójcik, S6.,
Halapi, E7., Sigursteinsdottir, H7., Oliaga,
A8.,Tsitsika, A2.
Safer Internet Programme
A
This project is funded by the Safer Internet Programme ,
a multiannual Community Programme on promoting safer use of the Internet and
new online technologies.
A
http://ec.europa.eu/saferinternet
CONSORTIUM PARTNERS − AFFILIATIONS
1. Outpatient Clinic for Computer Game and Internet Addictive Behaviour Mainz/ Clinic and
Polyclinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy at the University Medical Center of
the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz (UMC-Mainz), Germany
2. National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (N.K.U.A.), Second Dept. of Pediatrics, P & A.
Kyriakou Children’s Hospital, Adolescent Health Unit (A.H.U.), Greece
3. Deree, The American College of Greece, Greece
4. Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iasi (UMF), Romania
5. IVO Addiction Research Institute, the Netherlands
6. Nobody’s Children Foundation (NCF), Poland
7. University of Akureyri (UNAK), Iceland
8. Protegeles, Spain
Please cite this report as follows:
Dreier, M., Tzavela, E., Wölfling, K., Mavromati, F., Duven, E., Karakitsou, Ch., Macarie, G.,
Veldhuis, L., Wójcik, S., Halapi, E., Sigursteinsdottir, H., Oliaga, A., Tsitsika, A. (2013). The
development of adaptive and maladaptive patterns of Internet use among European adolescents
at risk for Internet Addictive Behaviours: A Grounded Theory inquiry. National and Kapodistrian
University of Athens (N.K.U.A.), Athens: EU NET ADB. Available at www.eunetadb.eu.
Keywords:
Adolescence, Internet use, Internet Addictive Behaviour, qualitative research, Grounded
Theory, Digital Outcomes
I
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The EU NET ADB qualitative study
This report represents work done under Work Package 5 (WP5) and constitutes the
qualitative component of the EU NET ADB study that was funded by the Safer Internet
Programme (SI-2011-KEP-4101007).
Background and Aims
Although there is a steady expansion of Internet use and Internet addiction research,
the concept of Internet Addictive Behaviours (IAB) is in its infancy. Qualitative research
is ideal for tackling definitional matters on scientific constructs that are not yet
mature. The present study was designed to provide a richer and better contextual
understanding of the development of IAB among European adolescents.
Context and Methods
A purposive sample of 124 adolescents aged 14-17 years was recruited in seven
European countries: Greece, Spain, Poland, Germany, Romania, the Netherlands and
Iceland. Participation in the study was limited to adolescents reporting signs of IAB
based on the Internet Addiction Test (IAT; Young, 1998; score>30 points). In-depth
individual interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim and analysed with the 3step version of Grounded Theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1990; 1998). Interviewing and initial
(open) coding were conducted locally, while subsequent levels of analyses were
performed by the two coordinating partners (Germany and Greece).
Digital pathways: Growing into regular users and content creators
The developmental progression of Internet use was described as personal online
journeys of exploration (digital pathways) starting in childhood with the use of simpler
applications. By early adolescence, Internet use escalated and involved higher
competence and engagement. Propelled forward by the discovery of social media,
adolescents’ Internet use progressed in an explosive manner and adolescents described
growing into regular users and content creators.
Adolescent Thirst
Participants unanimously described being drawn online to quench their adolescent
thirst, a normative need for communication and information voiced as the key motive
for Internet use. This thirst was most prevalently reflected in participants’ innate
curiosity to get answers and in their need to keep in touch with existing and new
contacts.
Always Online and Checking Out
Once adolescents discovered that their thirst for social connection and information
could be readily quenched online, Internet use boomed to the present phase of
continuous online engagement (Always Online), which was behaviourally manifested as
Checking Out online happenings. This new state of digital ‘being’ emerged as our
study’s central phenomenon: Always Online and Checking Out.
II
Easing Adolescence to Empowering Self
Being Always Online was reinforced and maintained by facilitation, experienced on a
practical, personal, as well as interpersonal level and referred to as easing adolescent
life. The manner by which adolescents were experiencing this facilitation ranged from
sheer facilitation (Easing) to more profound personal “boosting” (Empowerment).
Online engagement was perpetuated through positive online encounters, and in many
cases contributed to the development of IAB via the process of reinforcement.
Juggling a Changing Reality
In response to their busy schedules and increased online engagement, our participants
developed a variety of behavioural and cognitive strategies that were adaptive or
maladaptive in nature, constituting an act of juggling a changing reality. The degree of
self-regulation that participants possessed and their relative resistance or readiness for
change co-determined the type of strategies used.
Digital Outcomes
Based on online personal experiences and on the nature of strategies employed,
participants progressed on their digital pathways and reached their current individual
Digital Outcomes. Some participants described experiencing lack of control regarding
their Internet use, often expressed as being Stuck Online. Others, whose digital
pathways were cyclical in nature and were governed by negotiations of control and
awareness, were able to implement a change and to Come Full Cycle. A third group of
adolescents who possessed sufficient self-regulation and claimed that they were able to
integrate the Internet smoothly into their daily schedule, were described as Juggling It
All. The last identified outcome was that of Killing Boredom, capturing the outcome of
adolescents who found their offline environment boring or dreary. For this group the
Internet provided a comfortable time filler.
Navigating Adolescent Pathways
Digital Outcomes were shown to be shaped by the interaction of the offline and online
world and by the way adolescents experienced them both as contexts of growth. The
way adolescents experienced and negotiated the dynamic mutual interplay between the
two worlds attained the status of our core thematic category: Navigating Adolescent
Pathways.
Conclusions
Findings provide important evidence on normative developmental and contextual forces
mediating increased online engagement and IABs. The findings also illustrate the
multiple outcomes of Internet engagement, of which not all are maladaptive in nature.
Implications
Our findings contribute to the understanding of the processes leading to maladaptive
online behaviours in adolescence and point to the need to assess motives and
behaviours perpetuating online engagement so as to fully assess the adaptive or
maladaptive nature of today’s adolescents online engagement.
III
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................1
1.1 THE INTERNET AS CONTEXTUAL FACTOR: COGNITIVE AND SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
IN ADOLESCENCE .............................................................................................2
1.1.1 ADOLESCENCE: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT AND THE INTERNET ...............................2
1.1.2 ADOLESCENCE: SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE INTERNET .....................3
1.2 MALADAPTIVE ONLINE BEHAVIOURS AND INTERNET ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOUR: THEORETICAL
BACKGROUND AND PREVALENCE ..........................................................................5
1.3 GENERAL AIMS: WHY USING A QUALITATIVE APPROACH .............................................9
1.4 THE EU NET ADB STUDY: A MIXED METHODS STUDY INTEGRATING TWO RESEARCH
PARADIGMS .................................................................................................. 10
2. METHOD ........................................................................................................ 11
2.1 RESEARCH AIMS, RESEARCH QUESTION AND APPROACH ........................................... 11
2.2 PARTICIPANTS ............................................................................................. 12
2.2.1 PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES AND ROLE IN PROJECT ................................. 12
2.2.2 ETHICS ................................................................................................ 13
2.2.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PARTICIPATING ADOLESCENTS ................................... 14
2.3 PROCEDURE................................................................................................ 16
2.3.1 INCLUSION CRITERIA ................................................................................ 16
2.3.2 RECRUITMENT PROCEDURE ........................................................................ 17
2.3.3 THE PILOT STUDY ................................................................................... 18
2.3.4 DEVELOPMENT OF INTERVIEW SCHEDULE ....................................................... 18
2.3.5 ADMINISTRATION OF SEMI -STRUCTURE INTERVIEW .................................. 19
2.3.6 TRANSCRIPTION AND TRANSLATION OF INTERVIEW MATERIAL .................. 20
2.4 ANALYTIC APPROACH: CODING PROCEDURE ......................................................... 20
2.4.1 OPEN CODING ........................................................................................ 21
2.4.2 AXIAL CODING ........................................................................................ 21
2.4.3 SELECTIVE CODING .................................................................................. 22
2.5 RIGOUR ..................................................................................................... 22
III
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ................................................................................... 24
3.1 EMERGED CODES AND BROAD THEMATIC CATEGORIES ............................................. 24
3.2 THE STORYLINE ........................................................................................... 27
3.3 BROAD THEMATIC CATEGORIES AND DISCUSSION ................................................... 30
3.3.1 GROWING INTO A CONTENT CREATOR ........................................................... 30
3.3.2 ADOLESCENT THIRST ............................................................................... 41
3.3.3 ALWAYS ONLINE AND CHECKING OUT ............................................................ 47
3.3.4 FROM EASING ADOLESCENCE TO EMPOWERING SELF .......................................... 53
3.3.5 JUGGLING A CHANGING REALITY ................................................................. 61
3.3.6 DIGITAL OUTCOMES ............................................................................ 71
4. SUMMATIVE DISCUSSION ..................................................................................... 87
5. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY ................................................................................ 97
6. RECOMMENDATIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS ........................................................ 99
6.1 FRAMING AND DIRECTIONS OF RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................... 99
6.2 AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS AIMED AT ADOLESCENTS AND THEIR PARENTS .......... 100
6.3 SOCIAL MEDIA IN EDUCATION: O PPORTUNITIES AND REGULATIONS ................ 103
6.4 THE ROLE AND TRAINING OF COUNSELLORS AND MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS ........ 103
6.5 POLICY MAKERS .......................................................................................... 105
6.6 INDUSTRY (SELF-)REGULATION ........................................................................ 106
REFERENCES .................................................................................................. 107
IV
ANNEX ........................................................................................................... 122
A. INTERVIEW SCHEDULE ................................................................................ 122
B. DETAILED PARTICIPANT TABLES (PER COUNTRY) ........................................... 127
TABLE 8. DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH COUNTRY’S PARTIC IPANTS
WITH RECRUITMENT AND INTERVIEW DETAILS ............................................... 127
C. ANALYSIS SUPPLEMENTA RY TABLES OF EMERGED CONCEPTS AND PROPERTIES PER
AXIAL CATEGORY ....................................................................................... 134
TABLE 9. AXIAL 1 GROWING INTO A CONTENT CREATOR: CONCEPTS, PROPERTIES,
CONTEXTUAL LAYERS AND THEMES ............................................................... 134
TABLE 10. AXIAL 2 CONCEPTS, PROPERTIES − ADOLESCENT THIRST ................. 135
TABLE 11. AXIAL 3 CONCEPTS, PROPERTIES − ALWAYS ONLI NE AND CHECKING
OUT ......................................................................................................... 136
TABLE 12. AXIAL 4 CONCEPTS, PROPERTIES − FROM EASING ADOLESCE NCE TO
EMPOWERING SELF ..................................................................................... 137
D.
EU NET ADB PROJECT ............................................................................. 138
OVERVIEW ................................................................................................. 138
OBJECTIVES .............................................................................................. 138
WORK PACKAGES........................................................................................ 138
INTERNATIONAL ADVISO RY BOARD FOR THE QUALITATIVE STUDY ..................... 139
EXTERNAL ADVISORS FO R THE QUALITATIVE ST UDY ........................................ 139
E. EU NET ADB PROJECT M EMBERS................................................................... 140
V
FIGURES AND TABLES
Table 1. Participating countries and role in project ............................................................................. 12
Table 2. Characteristics of the total sample of adolescents and for each participating country 15
Table 3. Glossary of Grounded Theory terminology (Stylistic font replicated in text) .................. 21
Table 4. Exemplar category development with quote and coded concepts ...................................... 23
Table 5. Broad thematic (axial) categories, their properties, and role in paradigm ..................... 25
Table 6. Digital Outcomes based on the interplay of emerged defining processes ......................... 73
Table 7. Juggling a Changing Reality, Digital Outcomes properties, dimensions and interrelations
at the dimensional level ............................................................................................................................. 86
Figure 1. Emerged GT Model of Internet use patters among adolescents at risk for IAB ............... 26
Figure 2. Normative digital pathways leading to the adolescent mode of Always Online and
Checking Out ................................................................................................................................................. 47
VI
CONTRIBUTORS
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION
Writers
Chryssoula Karakitsou (CK)
Eleni Tzavela (ET)
Szymon Wójcik (SW)
Michael Dreier (MD)
2. METHOD
Michael Dreier
Lidy Veldhuis (LV)
Foteini Mavromati (FM)
Klaus Wölfling (KW)
Eva Duven (ED)
Eleni Tzavela
George Macarie (MG)
3. MAIN RESULTS
Eleni Tzavela
Michael Dreier
Foteini Mavromati
Klaus Wölfling
Eva Duven
Chryssoula Karakitsou
Eva Halapi
George Macarie
4. SUMMATIVE DISCUSSION AND LIMITATIONS
Eleni Tzavela
Foteini Mavromati
Michael Dreier
Klaus Wölfling
Artemis Tsitsika
5. LIMITATIONS
Eleni Tzavela
6. RECOMMENDATIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Eleni Tzavela
VII
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We want to extend our appreciation to all who contributed to the planning,
conduction and evaluation of this project. Our most sincere thanks are extended
to our International and External Advisors. Foremost to Dr. Chryssoula
Karakitsou (International Advisory Board; see Annex D) for her active, continuous
and invaluable contribution to the analysis and report writing. Special thanks to
our External Advisors who conducted the intermediate and final evaluation of
the report: Dr. Donald Greydanus for his constructive comments and continuous
support from early steps of this project, Dr. Elisabeth Staksrud for her significant
contribution to both research components, and Dr. Ranjana Das for her valuable
feedback on the report (for details see Annex D).
Our special thanks are addressed to the school teachers and principals that
supported our recruitment procedure and mostly to our participants that shared
their stories with us.
Special thanks to the coordinating centers’ department heads for graciously
offering their expertise and guidance: Prof. Dr. Manfred E. Beutel (Outpatient
Clinic for Computer Game and Internet Addictive Behaviour Mainz/ Clinic and
Polyclinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy at the University
Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany) and Dr.
Chryssa Bakoula (Second Dept. of Pediatrics, P. & A. Kyriakou Children’s
Hospital, Athens, Greece).
Sincere thank you to our supportive research assistants and translators:
Bärbel Schulz, Helene Rickert, Kristina Papp, Lisa Naab, Susann Köster, Jan
Becker, Matthias Strie (UMC-Mainz, Germany); Anthousa Sefereiadou, Chryssoula
Feridou, Christina Themeli (AHU, Greece); Alicia García, Isabel Aboy (Protegeles,
Spain); Martijn Altenburg, Laura van Duin, Stephen Card, Angeline Giel-Kelly,
Janneke ten Kate (IVO, the Netherlands); Katarzyna Makaruk, Joanna
Włodarczyk, Zofia Włodarczyk, (NCF, Poland); Sigrunsif Joelsdottir, Sigrun
Vesteinsdottir, Margret Audur Sigurbjörnsdóttir, Hjalti Johannesson, Halldor S.
Gudmundsson, Tryggvi G. Ingason, Boas Valdorsson and Valgerdur Olafsdottir
(UNAK, Iceland).
Finally, many thanks to our valued colleagues who undertook the final editing of
the report: Eva Halapi for her invaluable input making the report more coherent,
Szymon Wójcik for his meticulous work in the introduction and Mari Janikian for
her editing of the method.
VIII
The world of everyday life is not only taken for granted
as a reality by the ordinary members of society in the
subjectively meaningful conduct of their lives. It is a
world that originates in their thoughts and actions,
and is maintained as real by these.
Berger & Luckmann, 1966
1. INTRODUCTION
IX
1. INTRODUCTION
Adolescence is a transitional period marked with significant changes in physical,
cognitive and socio-emotional domains. With respect to cognitive abilities,
adolescents have newly acquired capacities of reasoning, planning, decision
making and hypothetical thinking (Keating, 1990; Moshman, 1998), which develop
in the course of social participation (Cole, 1996) while their implementation varies
considerably across learning contexts (Keating, 2004; Markovits & Barrouillet,
2002). Regarding this sensitive developmental period, the Internet has been widely
researched as a new context of this social and cognitive development of
adolescents.
Today’s adolescents were born in the mid-1990s − an era of climbing
Internet penetration across European countries. They grew up in homes with PCs
and Internet connection − although mostly dial-up in the 1990s. By the early 2000s,
as these children were entering primary school, broadband Internet (“always on”
connections) was penetrating European homes at incremental rates. This cohort of
children was introduced to the digital world most typically in middle childhood −
with some variability depending on the socio-cultural context of development.
They are part of a generation often referred to as the Net Generation (Kelsey,
2007; Tapscott, 1998; 2009): namely, children born between the early 1980s and
the mid-1990s. This generation was one of the first to be introduced to information
through digital pathways of learning and learned digitally the first time around −
in contrast to the rest of us who learned digital ways after first being taught more
traditional ways of learning and socializing. In fact, they were born digital and do
not remember any other way − digital ways are second nature to them (Palfrey &
Gasser, 2008). Today’s adolescents are typically more computer literate than any
previous generation and often more than their parents and their teachers (Oblinger
& Oblinger, 2005).
For young people, daily practices are heavily mediated by technology −
since this is the primary way they know. They read blogs rather than newspapers,
they study online and very rarely visit libraries, they get their music and movies
online and rarely have to pay for them, and most pervasively, they interact online
1
on social media, often befriending each other online before doing so in person.
Today’s adolescents were born at the launch of social networking sites (SNS) − they
are the first generation to grow up with social media and have fully embraced
them. Of European 13-16 year olds, 77% have a profile on a SNS (Livingstone,
Ólafsson & Staksrud, 2011), while very recent data suggests that 70% of 14-17 year
olds1 use SNS daily (Tsitsika et al., 2013). Social media have not only attained
prominence in the lives of adolescents but have re-defined the ways in which
adolescent daily communication and developmental struggles are expressed
(Tzavela & Mavromati, 2013). For most adolescents, social media constitutes an
extension of their offline sociability and entertainment — often seamlessly
integrating their offline and online functioning. For others the Internet may be
their preferred way of communication as suggested by recent findings indicating
that about half of European adolescents aged 11-16 find it easier to be themselves
on the Internet than when they interact with people face-to-face (Livingstone,
Haddon, Görzig & Ólafsson, 2011). Born at the onset of the digital age, adolescents
are inextricably connected with their Internet-saturated setting (Holloway &
Valentine, 2001). Therefore, the Internet constitutes a developmental context of
learning and acquiring social-emotional skills for today’s adolescents.
1.1 THE INTERNET AS CONTEXTUAL FACTOR: COGNITIVE AND SOCIO -EMOTIONAL
DEVELOPMENT IN ADOLESCENCE
1.1.1 ADOLESCENCE: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT AND THE INTERNET
Internet’s interactivity, connectivity and accessibility have shaped the learning
preferences and behaviours of today’s adolescents (Dresang, 2005; Oblinger &
Oblinger, 2005). For instance, young people like fast access to information, are
collaborative and engaged learners who use the Web as a reference library and
readily absorb and convey information in non-text formats (Shenton & Dixon,
2004). In addition, they expect their education to integrate technology and the
Internet (Philip, 2007).
1
EU NET ADB study; Representative sample in seven European countries (see section 1.4).
2
Electronic media has been found to enhance representational competencies,
like iconic representation, mental rotation, spatial visualization (see Greenfield &
Calvert, 2004) and hypermedia has been associated with high levels of attention
and engagement (Lawless, Mills & Brown, 2003), knowledge building (Kozma, 1991;
Landow, 1997) and increased control over content and speed of presented
information (Dresang, 2005). Yet, these effects can be short term (Subrahmanyam,
Greenfield, Kraut & Gross, 2001), situation specific (Dillon & Gabbard, 1998) and
learner specific (Houghton et al., 2004; Lawless et al., 2003; McMahon & Duffy,
1993). Finally, technology and the Internet might increase motivation and promote
representational competencies and attention but are not enhancing learning and
academic achievement per se, regardless of how they are implemented (Schmidt &
Vandewater, 2008). Although an earlier study with 7th to 12th graders showed both
that heavy computer users had better academic achievements compared to lighter
users and that well-structured technology-enriched curricula have lasting impact
to academic performance (Cole, 1996), the results are equivocal and vary based on
learner and context characteristics.
1.1.2 ADOLESCENCE: SOCIO -EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE INTERNET
During adolescent years, socialization extends and expands outside family confines
and family interaction decreases (Rubin, Bukowski & Parker, 2006). Adolescents
begin to expand their social networks into cliques and crowds (e.g., Brown, 1990;
Dunphy, 1963), spend more time and experience greater intimacy with friends
(e.g., Berndt, 1992 1996; Crosnoe, 2000), form romantic interests and relationships
(e.g. Connolly, Furman & Konarski, 2000; Feiring, 1999) and experiment with
various identities (McKenna & Bargh, 1998; Rubin et al., 2006). The construction of
a personally meaningful and socially validated identity constitutes a key
developmental task of adolescence and is related to psychological well-being
(Marcia, 1993).
Peer relations and the social contexts significantly contribute to the
identified
formation
process
and
psychosocial
adjustment.
For
instance,
adolescent friendships enhance the development of social skills, intimacy,
empathy, adoption of perspectives and conflict resolution (Berndt, 1992;
3
Buhrmester, 1990; Furman & Buhrmester, 1992; Hartup, 1993) and also reliably
predict self-esteem, social adjustment and overall well-being (Berndt, 1996;
Hartup, 1992). Further, interaction with more extensive peer groups allows social
comparison, contributes to the development of shared norms and promotes a sense
of belonging, validating further adolescents’ development of identity (Brechwald &
Prinstein, 2011).
A number of studies showed that the Internet provides a room for
marginalized teens to seek social support (McKenna & Bargh, 1998) and increases
feelings of closeness towards these friends (Valkenburg & Peter, 2007). In addition,
individuals who initially communicate online are often shown to like each other
more than individuals who initially communicate in a face-to-face setting (Bargh,
McKenna & Fitzsimons, 2002). Adolescents report the feeling of being connected to
the outside world by using the Internet (Chou, 2001) and are able to better express
their “true self” than offline (Amichai-Hamburger, Wainapel & Fox, 2002; Bargh,
McKenna & Fitzsimons, 2002).
Such findings are consistent with the “hyperpersonal communication theory”
(Walther, 1996) stressing that the audio-visual anonymity and asynchrony of
computer-mediated communication promote self-disclosure and control of selfpresentation. Valkenburg and Peter (2007) found that 15 year olds were more
likely than any other younger group to endorse the view that online communication
is more effective than offline communication in self-disclosing intimate
information. Similar findings have been reported among the socially anxious
youngsters (Campbell, Cumming & Hughes, 2006; Peris et al., 2002; Peter,
Valkenburg & Schouten, 2005).
Finally, although the anonymity offered by the Internet might contribute to
self-disclosure and subsequently promote relationship closeness, it can also
disinhibit adolescents and lead to negative content in their online interaction.
Results showed that adolescents are exposed to negative stereotypes and racial
prejudice against themselves and others (Tynes, 2009) − however racial slurs and
negative comments about ethnicity were far more common in unmonitored than
monitored chat rooms frequented by young adolescents (Tynes, Reynolds &
Greenfield, 2004).
4
Overall results on the effects of Internet use might appear equivocal. In part
this can be due to the fact that most studies have been cross sectional and
correlational, with few longitudinal studies examining the short and long term
impact of Internet use. While some Internet researchers support theories
suggesting a positive impact of the Internet use on young people (e.g. stimulation
hypothesis in online communication; Valkenburg & Peter, 2007), others still
suggest that different activities may have different impacts on social and overall
well-being and that certain profiles of users might misuse their time online on
activities which have short-term benefits (Douglas et al., 2008).
1.2 MALADAPTIVE ONLINE BEHAVIOURS AND INTERNET ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOUR:
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND PREVALENCE
Parallel to the appreciation that the Internet has become not only a convenient
but also a necessary component of contemporary adolescent life, there is a
growing body of literature on the problem of excessive or problematic Internet
use and the so-called “Internet addiction”. Very recently, publications have drawn
attention to the difference between over-users, heavy users and addicted users
(e.g. Israelashvili, Kim & Bukobza, 2012). Such qualitative differentiation shows
growing acceptance of the possibility that adolescents’ over-engagement with the
Internet can be adaptive if it serves age-related needs but that it also can be
maladaptive in nature.
Maladaptive online behaviours have been widely documented and
investigated, often conceptualized as Internet Addictive Behaviour (IAB). IAB
constitutes a new reality and a new entity within the range of pathological
behaviours − a novice health care issue and a new morbidity still under rigorous
investigation. The phenomenon was first discussed in the mid-1990s and has been
extensively investigated since. Yet, the scientific community worldwide has not
reached a conclusion on whether this behavioural pattern constitutes an actual
“addiction”. Recently the American Psychiatric Association has included Internet
Gaming Disorder as one specific sub-type of Internet Addictive Behaviour in the
newest revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (APA,
2013; DSM-V). Since Internet Gaming Disorder has been included in Section III of
5
the DSM-V, it is explicitly recommended to initiate additional research on this
matter. Although first scientific publications and clinical descriptions appeared
more than 15 years ago, the disputes regarding its nosological classification,
phenomenology as well as diagnostic criteria are on-going.
In the absence of unambiguous guidelines, various names and approaches
have been simultaneously used in literature in order to describe the phenomenon.
These include:
Internet Addiction, Internet Abuse, Internet Dependence,
Compulsive Internet Use, Excessive Internet Use, Pathological and Problematic
Internet Use, Internet Use Disorder and others (cf. Shapira et al., 2003; Widyanto
& Griffiths, 2006). The use of certain terminology is also to some extent connected
with differences in framing of the problem.
Internet Addiction was the term proposed by Kimberly Young in her
pioneering studies in 1996 and later as she developed the Internet Addiction Test
(IAT; Young, 1998) − a diagnostic tool also used in this project. The tool is based
on the assumption that extensive use of the Internet may develop into
psychological dependency similar to the one experienced by people addicted to
gambling. Consequently, DSM-IV criteria for “pathological gambling” were adapted
to diagnose Internet addiction thus conceptualized as an impulse control disorder.
Many controversies arose over the question whether the term “Internet addiction”
is adequate (e.g. Morahan-Martin, 2005; Widyanto & Griffiths, 2006), and the term
was rejected by researchers as too “valueladen” (Charlton, 2002) and not
sufficiently justified. Several issues connected with this approach have been
raised. Firstly, some authors believe that the broad use of the term “addiction”
may dilute its meaning and is actually building a false analogy especially as some
scholars are not fully convinced that this pathology falls into the category of
“addiction”. Secondly, defining the problem in “addiction” categories may be in
fact counter-effective for treatment as individuals may feel even less in control
over their Internet use being defined as “addict” (Morahan-Martin, 2005).
Some authors prefer to use the term Internet Addictive Behaviour (IAB) to
underline common characteristics with the subset of behavioural addiction rather
than substance abuse disorders. What is typical for these approaches is the focus
on behavioural symptoms exhibited by users. The lack of control over the use
6
together with negative effects of the overuse for the overall functioning of the
individual are most commonly adapted characteristics of IAB. Basing on this
concept Natan Shapira and colleagues (Shapira et al., 2003) proposed the broadest
diagnostic criteria consisting of two basic points: (a) maladaptive preoccupation
with internet use is experienced as irresistible or extends to periods of time longer
than planned and (b) such preoccupation causes significant distress or impairment
in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning. Accordingly,
Griffiths (2000) proposed a set of symptoms based on clinical case study evidence.
These symptoms include salience (dominating role of Internet in life), tolerance
(increasing amounts of time online needed), mood modification (feeling of “buzz”
while browsing the net), occurrence of conflicts (both inter- and intrapersonal)
and relapse (e.g. unsuccessful attempts of self-limitation). A number of critics
argue that some of these criteria may reflect “normal” enthusiastic behaviour
(i.e., tolerance, euphoria, cognitive salience) whereas others do reflect a
pathological behaviour (i.e., conflict, behavioural salience, withdrawal, relapse;
Charlton, 2002; Charlton & Danforth; 2007; Wood, 2008;). In addition, clinical
experience and data from the qualitative material have revealed a self-correction
behavioural pattern in some individuals who have stopped addictive use by
themselves with no external intervention. This situation does not occur in cases of
other addiction patterns (e.g. drug addiction) (Kormas, Critselis, Janikian,
Kafetzis, & Tsitsika, 2011). Therefore, we do not wish to speak of addiction but
rather of a behavioural pattern characterized by addiction-like symptoms.
Another widely used term is Problematic or Pathological Internet Use
(PIU). Davis (2001) states that the word “addiction” usually implies physiological
dependence, whereas the adjective “pathological” denotes compulsive behaviours.
The term Problematic Internet Use (PIU) was coined to underline the negative
academic or social outcomes that are caused by such a behaviour and its
maladaptive character (Caplan, 2003). The term PIU is also believed to be more
broadly defined than Internet Addiction and is meant to address not only the
clinical cases but rather a wide spectrum of situations in which the Internet use is
characterized by control deficiency and negative outcomes for the user (Caplan &
High, 2011). Another significant researcher in this field, Nathan Shapira, also
7
prefers the term PIU owing to the fact that it is still not determined if this
phenomenon is better described in terms of obsessive-compulsive or impulse
control disorders (Shapira et al., 2003).
Many scholars hoped that phenomenological uncertainties, such as whether
“Internet addiction” is a distinct clinical disorder or a psychopathological symptom
secondary to an underlying mental disease, would be addressed by its inclusion in
the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM) 5th edition (DSM-V). However, the debate is still on-going as
“Internet Gaming Disorder” has been included in Section III of the DSM-V. Here one
can find preliminary psychopathological entities that require further clinical
validity before being included in the main section (DSM-V; APA, 2013).
Prevalence of IAB has been measured in many epidemiological, crosssectional studies in USA (e.g. Aboujaoude, Koran, Gamel, Large, & Serpe 2006;
Shaw & Black, 2008), Europe (e.g. Durkee et al., 2012; Šmahel et al., 2012; Tstiska
et al., 2012 ) and south-eastern Asia (e.g. in South Korea: Park, Kim, & Cho 2008;
in China: Cao & Su 2007). European research on Internet Addictive Behaviour has
been conducted in recent years with various outcomes (Batthyàny, Müller, Benker,
& Wölfling, 2009; Durkee, et al., 2012; Ferraro, Casi, D’Amico, & Blasi, 2007;
Johansson & Gotestam, 2004; Kaltiala-Heino, Lintonen, & Rimpela, 2004; Müller &
Wölfling, 2010; Roe & Muijs, 1998; Van Rooij, et al., 2010; Van Rooij,
Schoenmakers, & Van de Mheen, 2011; Zboralski, et al., 2009). However, tools for
measuring this behaviour have not yet been clinically validated, the ages that have
been studied vary and cultural factors have not been taken fully into
consideration. It is interesting that much less attention has been devoted to the
potential benefits that the use of the internet may have for adolescents.
In a substantial metasynthesis of Internet addiction research, Byun and
colleagues (2009) consider the development of a common definition as the most
important challenge for researchers. It seems that the scientific community has
not reached this goal yet and further research is needed to explore the very nature
of the phenomenon. It seems that a qualitative approach can be extremely useful
towards this purpose, especially because such research makes as few initial
assumptions as possible.
8
1.3 GENERAL AIMS: WHY USING A QUALITATIVE APPROACH
Internet technology is constantly evolving and applications available to adolescent
users are changing, resulting into the appearance of different patterns of
behaviours and new profiles of users. The introduction of social media allows for
more interactive and social online activities (O’Reilly, 2005) where users have
greater control over the dissemination of content. As a result, there is a
pronounced shift in the prevailing reasons driving youngsters to the Internet, from
entertainment and consumption of content to communication and creation of
content (Chang, 2006; Lorenzo, Oblinger & Dziuban, 2007). Internet use is dynamic
with various patterns of use changing drastically − for instance the initial gender
differences in Internet use have disappeared in subsequent studies (Gross, 2004;
Subrahmanyam, Greenfield, Kraut & Gross, 2001) and interpersonal exchange has
become more private among friends rather than public among strangers (Gross,
2004; Lenhart & Madden, 2007; Peter, Valkenburg & Schouten, 2006).
Methodologies employed to examine Internet use along with its ensuing
consequences should keep pace with the continuous transformation of the digital
landscape and also be regularly revised accounting for new forms of Internet use
and functions. Qualitative research can shed light on new developments.
Livingstone (2003) noted the scarcity of qualitative data on Internet use and
emphasized the need to collect data shedding light on its quality, the social
conditions, the cultural practices and the personal meanings ascribed to Internet
and its use. Literature exploring the sources of inconsistent findings between
Internet use and its impact on adolescents’ lives and development state the time
spent online not to be the most decisive factor. Instead, researchers call attention
to the role of more subjective aspects of adolescent Internet use such as personal
motives and needs (Gordon, Juang & Syed 2007; Gross, 2004). This type of
information might be less accessible and rich from fixed-response measures than
from open-ended response formats.
Furthermore, although there is a steady expansion of Internet addiction
research, the concept of Internet addiction is in its infancy (Yang & Tung, 2007)
and there is much scepticism surrounding it (Mitchell, 2000). Traditionally,
qualitative research precedes quantitative research better tackling definitional
9
matters on scientific constructs which are not yet mature. In the context of the
present study, qualitative methodology can provide rich and contextual material
on the experience of individuals with excessive Internet use and therefore a better
understanding of the phenomenon. Thus, this type of inquiry can make valuable
theoretical and methodological contributions. First, the delineation of the
different pathways Internet users are following using the medium can help explain
how some users develop dependent profiles and thus funnel theory building
research on Internet addition. Second, the identification of the properties and
dimensions of problematic use can elucidate the construct and guide a large body
of quantitative studies which focus on the development of valid diagnostic
procedures and criteria.
1.4 THE EU NET ADB STUDY: A MIXED METHODS STUDY INTEGRATING TWO
RESEARCH PARADIGMS
This qualitative study is part of a larger mixed methods project carried out in
seven European countries (list of participating countries, institutions and
contributions in Table 1; page 11) and managed and coordinated by the Adolescent
Health Unit (AHU) of the Second Dept. of Pediatrics in Athens, Greece. The project
was funded by the Safer Internet Programme (SI-2011-KEP-4101007) as a
Knowledge Enhancement Project.
Our foremost aim was to delineate the phenomenon of IAB in adolescence
by integrating and complementing qualitative and quantitative research
paradigms. The project therefore employed a mixed-methods design, combining
(1) a quantitative assessment of the prevalence and risk factors associated with
Internet Addictive Behaviour (IAB) in adolescence (see Tsitsika et al., 2013) and (2)
a qualitative exploration of the development of Internet use among adolescents at
risk for addictive behaviours presented in this report. Thus, the design enabled to
develop a systematic representation both of adolescents’ self-reported behaviours
(assessed through quantitative questionnaires) and of their lived experience
(captured through personal detailed narrations).
10
2. METHOD
2.1 RESEARCH AIMS, RESEARCH QUESTION AND APPROACH
The present qualitative study aimed to explore the lived experiences of
adolescents who are over-engaged with the Internet and report signs of addictive
behaviour (to varying degrees). In particular, our aim was to uncover the
conditions in the midst of which adolescent Internet overindulgence unfolds
and evolves and to explore the experienced consequences. To map the
associated underlying social processes, we elected a process-oriented research
question, initially phrased as “How does Internet Addictive Behaviour
develop?”. However, consistent with the cyclical nature of qualitative research
this initial question was revised. A need to rephrase the research question surfaced
from the first wave of data collection which revealed that adolescents’ narrations
were not typically centred on the issue of “addiction”. Consequently, in an effort
to capture a broader picture of adolescent experiences, the research question was
adjusted to “How does Internet use develop among European adolescents who
are at risk for Internet Addictive Behaviour?”.
As the phenomenon of IAB is relatively “new” and no formal theory or
formal diagnostic criteria have been developed, Grounded Theory (GT) was
deemed a good fit for this process-oriented exploratory study. GT (Glaser &
Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1990; 1998) is designed to facilitate the
development of new contextualized theories. In this respect, GT built on concepts
emerging from the data rather than on analytical constructs from pre-existing
theories and is therefore “grounded in the data”. GT is ideal for exploring social
processes and behaviours of groups in which little exploration of the contextual
factors has been undertaken. Strauss and Corbin’s three-stage analytic approach
(1990; 1998) of open, axial and selective coding involves continuous reappraisal of
the data for relational issues of context, causal conditions and interrelationships.
This rendered the GT approach compatible with the objective of understanding
the conditions that contribute to adaptive and maladaptive Internet use among
adolescents.
Based
on
the
process-oriented
research
question
and
the
11
aforementioned advantages of GT, all three researchers involved in the design
phase of the project (ET, KW, FM) unanimously agreed to adopt the GT approach.
2.2 PARTICIPANTS
2.2.1 PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES AND ROLE IN PROJECT
Seven European countries participated in the present study: Greece, Spain,
Poland, Germany, Romania, the Netherlands and Iceland (for details on
participating countries and their role in the project see Table 1; complete details
on partners in Annex E). The research-teams within each participating country
recruited and invited adolescents showing signs of IAB to participate in a semistructured interview. Recruitment and interviewing was conducted between
summer 2011 and spring 2012.
Table 1. Participating countries and role in project
Partner
name
Country
Role in project
AHU
Greece
PROTEGELES
Spain
NCF
Poland
UMC-Mainz
Germany
LMK
UMF
Germany
Romania
IVO
The
Netherlands
Iceland
Data collection (conducting interviews)
Data analysis at three consecutive stages
(open, axial and selective coding)
Initial stage of data analysis (open coding)
Data analysis at three consecutive stages
(open, axial and selective coding)
Not participating in the qualitative study
UNAK
Consortiumwide
Interviews
conducted
and analysed
7 countries
20
20
20
20
0
16
16
12
124
Note. For details on participating partners please see Consortium Partners-Affiliations
The scope of the present sampling method with respect to the sample size was
extended in terms of the classic GT approach. Thus, one could argue that a
“hybrid-theory” which applied concepts of GT was used here. While according to
12
the classic GT approach, data collection phase (e.g. theoretical sampling) is
terminated once the research question has been answered comprehensively from
the existing data, the present study started off with a broader sample offering
prospects for addressing new research questions. For instance, it was possible to
explicitly address gamers or focus on cultural aspects that participants from
different countries elaborated on in their narrations. Thus, the data set was robust
enough to deliver answers for future additional questions and consequently be a
source of rich information.
2.2.2 ETHICS
The welfare of the participants was our overriding consideration. Therefore it was
important that all ethical guidelines would be followed and respective permission
would be solicited. Each partner was responsible for filing a petition requesting
permission for the study with their local appropriate State agencies, Ministry of
Education or other Ethics committee relevant to each context and to follow all
local ethical guidelines and restrictions. Educational authorities were contacted
for local restrictions. The study protocol was approved by the respective Ethical
Committees of each participating country.
Written informed consent was obtained from the parents/guardians of all
eligible adolescents prior to participation in the study. Furthermore, respecting
the adolescents’ maturity and independence the investigators solicited their verbal
consent for participation. Adolescents were informed about the overall purpose of
the research as well as the risks and benefits of participation. They were further
informed that participation was voluntary and that they could withdraw at any
time with no negative repercussions.
Anonymity and confidentiality were stressed prior to the administration and
the procedures undertaken for this cause (anonymisation) were explained to the
participants. Limits to confidentiality were addressed, explaining that action would
be taken if adolescents reported being harmed in any way. Confidentiality and
anonymity was further guaranteed during the data processing stage of the project
by removing any identifiers from the data set.
13
Following the principle of beneficence researchers minimized risks
associated with the study (Kvale, 1996; Marshall & Bossman, 1995). Appropriate
referral sources for professional help were ready if necessary (for details see
Debriefing in Procedure). In addition, every possible effort was made to maximize
the benefits resulting from research. Self-acknowledgment could be a possible
benefit as participants were given a voice. Sense of purpose could be reinforced as
they shared their information intended to help affected others. The benefit of
increasing self-awareness was stressed since the in-depth discussion could
potentially spur introspection on how each participant uses the Internet
(Hutchinson, Wilson & Wilson, 1994).
2.2.3 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PARTICIPATING ADOLESCENTS
A total of 124 adolescents participated in the present study. The sample's mean
age was 16.0 years (SD=0.7), 56.5% of the interviewed adolescents were boys,
62.0% lived in an urban area, 81.3% were 10th grade students and 51% performed
average in school. Adolescents’ mean score on the IAT test was 47.3 (SD=12.9;
range: 30-90). Table 2 (page 15) presents an overview of the characteristics of the
participating adolescents and of the interviews. More detailed demographic data of
participants of each county are presented in Table 8 in Annex B.
14
Table 2. Characteristics of the total sample of adolescents and for each participating
country
Frequency in study population (%) (unless otherwise specified) per country
Total
sample
Germany
Greece
Iceland
Poland
Romania
Spain
(n = 20)
(n = 20)
(n = 12)
(n = 20)
(n = 16)
(n = 20)
(%)
Boy s (n = 124)
The
Netherlands
(n = 16)
70 (56.5)
10 (50.0)
10 (50.0)
8 (66.7)
10 (50.0)
8 (50.0)
12 (60.0)
12 (75.0)
16.0 (0.7)
16.1 (0.6)
15.7 (0.6)
15.3 (0.7)
15.3 (0.5)
16.7 (0.4)
16.5 (0.4)
16.3 (0.5)
47 (37.9)
5 (25.0)
7 (35.0)
10 (83.3)
2 (10.0)
3 (18.8)
7 (35.0)
13 (81.3)
77 (62.0)
15 (75.0)
13 (65.0)
2 (16.7)
18 (90.0)
13 (81.2)
13 (65.0)
3 (18.8)
9th grade
10 (8.1)
2 (10.0)
3 (15.0)
4 (33.3)
0
0
0
1 (6.7)
10th grade
100 (81.3)
15 (75.0)
16 (80.0)
8 (66.7)
13 (65.0)
16
20
12 (80.0)
11th grade
13 (10.6)
3 (15.0)
1 (5.0)
0
7 (35.0)
0
0
2 (13.3)
Mean age, years (SD)
(n = 124)
Type of residence location (n = 124)
Rural /
sub-urban area
Urban area
School grade (n = 123)
School Performance (n = 104)
Below average
17 (17.0)
6 (30.0)
1 (5.9)
5 (45.5)
0
0
2 (10.0)
3 (18.8)
Average
53 (50.0)
10 (50.0)
6 (35.3)
2 (18.2)
14 (70.0)
11 (55.0)
11 (55.0)
10 (62.5)
Above average
34 (33.0)
4 (20.0)
10 (58.8)
4 (36.4)
6 (30.0)
7 (35.0)
7 (35.0)
3 (18.8)
47.34(12.9)
52.6 (11.5)
47.3 (11.8)
49.8 (12.7)
47.0 (16.2)
40.4 (10.3)
49.1 (10.7)
44.3 (14.4)
45.6 (12.4)
43.3 (9.0)
51.7 (7.5)
34.4 (7.5)
56.0 (14.3)
47.6 (8.6)
42.8 (8.8)
Mean score on IAT
(SD) (n = 124)
Mean duration
interview
44.2 (19.4)
min (SD) (n = 124)
15
2.3 PROCEDURE
2.3.1 INCLUSION CRITERIA
Inclusion criteria for participation in the study required adolescents to be 14 to 17
years old and report signs of Internet Addictive Behaviours, based on the Internet
Addiction Test (IAT; Young, 1998; 2010).
The IAT is a 20-item self-report scale that measures the presence and
severity of symptoms of addictive Internet use. The items for the IAT differentiate
‘normal’ online users from compulsive online users (Young, 2010). Characteristics
of compulsive online users are the preoccupation with the Internet, lying about the
behaviour, a loss of interest in other interests and/or people, using the Internet as
a form of escape, inability to control the behaviour and impairment of functioning.
The scale was adapted for adolescent users and has been pilot tested revealing
good psychometric properties (Tsitsika, Janikian, Antonogeorgos, Critselis,
Schoenmakers, Richardson & Bakoula, 2012). The IAT items are rated on a 5-point
Likert scale (0-5) and the total score ranges from 0-100 points, with higher scores
representing higher levels of severity of Internet compulsivity and addiction.
According to the scale’s developer (Young, 2010), total scores that range from 0 to
30 points are considered to reflect a normal level of Internet usage, scores of 31 to
49 indicate the presence of a mild level of Internet addiction, 50 to 79 reflect the
presence of a moderate level and scores of 80 to 100 indicate a severe
dependence.
Inclusion criteria employed — IAT cutoff. In the first wave of data collection
and analysis the cutoff score for participation was set at 40 points2, while for the
two subsequent stages the minimum IAT score required for participation was
lowered to 30 points. First, this decision was in line with empirical literature,
showing that significantly more of the older adolescents (15-16) compared to
younger and children are reporting negative experiences from high levels of
Internet use (N=25.142, 9-16 year olds, Livingstone, Haddon, Görzig, and Ólafsson,
2011), 10–20% are at-risk for problematic Internet use (12-18 year olds; N=3.237 in
2
Guided by the EU NET ADB quantitative protocol cutoffs
16
Johansson & Götestam 2004; N=2.629 in Cao & Su, 2007) and more than three
fifths of youth report up to three symptoms for PIU (Morahan-Martin & Schumacher
2000). However, because not all excessive users have problems with their daily
lives and not all problematic users are addicted, we aimed to render the sample of
over-engaged Internet users more inclusive of a variable range of experiences,
ranging from adaptive to maladaptive. Thus with the use of the GT approach we
could (a) identify protective and at risk factors for the development of IA among
adolescents who overuse the medium and (b) possibly trace the development of
adaptive and maladaptive patters of internet use to earlier stages. As such the
adoption of a moderate recruitment criterion in addition to the selected analytic
procedure allowed the generation of a Grounded Theory that could guide early
intervention incentives, rather than focusing on adolescents with fully developed
maladaptive Internet behaviour.
2.3.2 RECRUITMENT PROCEDURE
Recruitment was primarily school-based and invitation for participation in the
interview was typically extended to students participating in the EU NET ADB
quantitative study, a school-based anonymous survey that included the IAT3. At the
end of the survey’s class administration an announcement was made to all students
inviting them to participate in face-to-face anonymous audiotaped interviews on
the same topic as the questionnaire. Students were told that the interviews were
aimed to capture the experiences and opinions of adolescents who were regular
Internet users and have an avid interest and engagement to the Internet. To
facilitate the comprehension of the interview content an exemplary question was
presented. It was further explained that the interviews would be held in school. All
students who volunteered were asked to provide their survey code (number code
of their anonymous questionnaire) so as to maintain their anonymity. Finally, the
selection procedure was presented in class, explaining that among those
volunteering only those meeting the study’s criteria of participation, which were
based on the questionnaire, would be eligible to participate.
3
http://www.eunetadb.eu/en/study-goals/methods/104-questionnaire
17
For countries recruiting outside participating EU NET ADB classrooms,
invitations to participate were posted on flyers at school blackboards and school
bus stops or were disseminated via school communication systems or by advertising
in school magazines. Additionally, in Romania, Germany and the Netherlands
adolescents were recruited via sport clubs, Internet forums, Internet cafés, youth
clubs, a computer gaming fair and other youth fairs. Further, in all countries, the
‘snowball’ technique was used in recruiting adolescents, as some of them
spontaneously wanted to participate too because their peers had done so. Some
adolescents were also recruited through the personal network of the researchers.
In some countries and for a limited time during the first phase, incentives were
used to facilitate recruitment. Namely, cinema vouchers were offered to
participants in the Netherlands, Germany, while in Iceland cinema vouchers were
offered in appreciation to all participants4.
2.3.3 THE PILOT STUDY
A pilot study was implemented aiming to develop the interview schedule (IS; Annex
A). Four adolescents (2 males and 2 females) residing in Germany and Greece and
aged 15 to 16 years old were interviewed. Resulting modifications of the IS
included the expansion of the warming up section to allow a smoother beginning of
the interview process, the rephrasing of some questions to enhance clarity, the
development of supplementary prompts and inclusion of sub-questions to facilitate
narration and the addition of questions on the basis of novel aspects surfacing from
narrations during the interviews.
2.3.4 DEVELOPMENT OF INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
A semi-structured IS was constructed with a focus on the collection of a broad data
basis that would provide an in-depth understanding of the specific determinants
and conditions that underlie the development of IAB among adolescents with signs
of addictive Internet use. Open questions were used to enhance participants’
narration, accompanied with follow-up questions, aiming to facilitate elaboration
4
Cinema vouchers were given to Icelandic adolescents after the interview was concluded as a sign of appreciation, but were
not used as incentive for participation, because adolescents did not know beforehand that they would be given a voucher.
18
on initial answers. Overall, the interview schedule comprised of five main parts: a)
Warm up, b) Internet initiation, evolution and current use, c) Needs met by
Internet use, d) Self-perceived repercussions and e) Personal aims in regard to
Internet use.
The development of the interview schedule incorporated a central multistage process of readjustment. Feedback for potential additions or modifications
was also provided by the researchers of participating countries that conducted the
local interviews and open-coding as well as from the project’s advisors. Interview
questions and prompts continued to be revised according to new emerging data in
participants’ narratives that were analysed during prior stages of analysis (opencoding).
2.3.5 ADMINISTRATION OF SEMI -STRUCTURE INTERVIEW
Interviews were conducted by trained professionals who were familiar with
and conformed to the requirements of the codes of ethical conduct or guidelines
on interviewing young people.
Three different waves of data collection were scheduled. The first wave
included 41 interviews [male 56.1%], the second 33 interviews [male 51.52%], and
the third 50 interviews [male 60%].
In addition to the selection explanation given in class, chosen participants
were briefed in the beginning of the interview. Namely, participants were told
that they were selected among their classmates who volunteered based on a their
answers in the written questionnaire, which indicated they may be using the
Internet excessively or in maladaptive way. No specific scales or scores were
revealed. Prior to the interview, it was emphasized that there were no right or
wrong answers or attitudes and that the interviewer was interested to learn the
participant’s personal story regarding Internet use, habits, motives and outcomes
of use. During the initial, warm-up phase of the interview the researcher shared a
few things about himself/herself to facilitate commencement of his/her narration.
Interview duration and length. The mean duration of the interviews was
45.6 minutes (SD=12.4). In order to ensure in-depth narrations, the interviewers
were advised to conduct at least a 30 minutes interview. Additionally a target
19
interview transcript length of 450 transcript lines was set, while the minimum
requirement was 350 transcript lines.
At the end of the interview the participants were asked if they had any
questions or comments or if they had felt uncomfortable at any point during the
interview. Issues raised were addressed in detail as needed. Moreover, participants
were provided with information leaflets on Internet safety and with local contact
details of helplines and local health clinics (if any) providing advice on issues of
Internet use.
2.3.6 TRANSCRIPTION AND TRANSLATION OF INTERVIEW MATERIAL
A transcription guide was prepared for use and orientation by every consortium
partner. Translations of transcripts were carried out by researchers fully
competent and with relevant credentials in the English language or professional
translators. The translations were internally quality controlled by a second reader.
Both the translator and the second reader were required to sign the release form,
which accompanied the transcripts.
2.4 ANALYTIC APPROACH: CODING PROCEDURE
The analysis of the obtained narrations was based on Strauss and Corbin’s (1990;
1998) three-stage process of open, axial and selective coding. These data were
merged from codes to concepts and from concepts to broader conceptual
categories (see Table 3 Glossary; page 18).
The interviews were manually open coded (no coding software was used) by
the researchers of each participating country and thereafter translated into
English. Subsequently, open codes (in English) were validated and consolidated
into one master databank of open codes by the coordinating centres (UMC and
AHU). The final steps of integrative analyses (axial and selective coding) were
conducted by three main researchers in the coordinating centres − a sociologist
(MD), a developmental psychologist (ET) and a counselling psychologist (FM). The
analysts’ different fields of expertise contributed uniquely to the meaning-making
process of data analysis and safeguarded sensitivity to different perspectives and a
relatively complete representation of participants’ experience.
20
2.4.1 OPEN CODING
Open-coding is the analytic process that “breaks up the data”. Towards this end,
open coding “fractures” the data into concepts and categories, progressively
identifying and integrating categories of meaning from data (Willig, 2009). A
Glossary of GT terms is presented in Table 3. The development of an exemplary
category depicting the open coding process and emergent concepts is shown in
Table 4 (page 20).
Table 3. Glossary of Grounded Theory terminology (Stylistic font replicated in text)
Terms
Concepts
Categories
Properties
Degree of Variability
Dimensions
Coding Paradigm
Phenomenon
Axial Categories
Definition
Descriptive conceptual labels placed on discrete happenings, events and other
concrete instances of phenomena. The building blocks of theory.
A classification or grouping of concepts under a higher level of abstraction. The
categories are highly abstract and analytic as they do not simply describe
particular instances of phenomena but add meaning to them.
Attributes pertaining to a category, or conceptual characteristics of a category.
The degree to which a concept varies dimensionally along it properties, with
variation being built into the theory (see also Dimension).
Location of properties along a continuum.
An analytic tool devised to help integrate structure and process into theory
generation; used to develop relations between categories.
Central idea in the data about which a set of actions are directed at handling,
or to which a set of conditions is related
Central categories building a coding paradigm, representing broad thematic
categories.
The conceptualization of the story told.
Storyline
The central category around which all the other axial categories are integrated.
CORE CATEGORY
Note. The terms are based on Strauss & Corbin (1990; 1998)
2.4.2 AXIAL CODING
Axial coding denotes the reassembly of fragmented data, creating novel subcategories and categories and elaborating the link(s) between them. In this
respect, the coding process is undertaken in 4 steps 1) hypothetical linking and
combination of sub-categories and categories, 2) verification of those links and
combinations during a data-based analysis, 3) searching for facts that can explain
dimensional occurrences and 4) analysis of different phenomena (Strauss & Corbin,
1990; 1998).
During axial coding, the conditions that trigger the phenomena, their
context, employed strategy and subsequent consequences were identified. During
21
analysis there was a continuous interplay between both coding levels (open and
axial).
2.4.3 SELECTIVE CODING
During selective coding a storyline which represents a narrative description on the
central core conceptual categories of the study is elaborated. This is followed by
the selection of a core category (see Glossary) to ground the emerging theory
which is generated on a meta-level and also has thematic relevance to the current
field of research (Strauss & Corbin, 1990; 1998).
2.5 RIGOUR
The present study was strongly oriented on GT by Strauss & Corbin (1990; 1998)
and therefore aimed at fulfilling the relevant criteria for empirical grounding.
Thus, the generated concepts were grounded in up to 20 interviews per country
and linked during axial coding. As a first step in the analysis, open coding grounded
in the data took place. This was followed by the development of axial coding to
represent processes and to also show the linkages between concepts on a
relational and causal level. The axial categories and the overall storyline
represented the results of these linkages. The linkages between concepts were
conceptualized on the axial level. Coherency in axial coding was ensured by high
discriminatory power of each axial category. To guarantee well-developed
categories, concepts were only used once within and between each axial category.
This was accomplished by reformulating categories and reassigning quotes so that
categories were distinct and had no overlapping concepts. The conceptual linkages
were included in the form suggested by Corbin & Strauss (1990; 1998) with every
axial category containing features for context, causal conditions, strategies and
consequences.
To ensure quality on the open-coding conducted locally by each partner,
feedback on procedure and results was continuously given individually to partners
by the coordinating centres. During the integration phase (merging of data), the
research teams at AHU and UMC each integrated data for half of the partners. The
quality of the integration by each team was then assessed by the other research
22
team. In addition, weekly or fortnightly video-call meetings were scheduled to
discuss the integration of material on the theoretical and practical level. To ensure
involvement and input from all participating members, all partners were invited to
participate in face-to-face and video-call meetings. Transparency was provided by
regular meetings with involved members of the International advisory board in
which the process of analysis was described in detail and discussed with all
researchers present. In addition, minutes were kept during the face-to-face and
video-call meetings. Importantly, quality checks on open and axial coding were
conducted within the research teams.
Table 4. Exemplar category development with quote and coded concepts
Exemplar quote
Coded concepts on a lineby-line basis
NL01L18-23: When I was little we had one of those modem things and
that went *makes dial-up noise*, something like that and that was
super slow. Then we had behavioural goals here at home, like that I
wasn’t allowed to throw cushions if I was angry, and with that I could
earn “Internet-minutes” and that’s how it started actually. At school,
we could be on the computer for an hour every Friday. Yeah, that is
how it started, and in the beginning it was games or spele.nl.
 technological constrains
 behavioural goals
 parental mediation
 “how it started”
 school access
 online games
Concepts
Category
Properties
Dimensions
Learning style
Self-learning to fully
assisted
Well remembered vs.
Too young to remember
Recollection
degree
Vague to wellremembered
First impression
Discovery level
Subtle to overt
Use limited in time and
applications
Parental restrictions and
rules
Restrictions
imposed
Subtle to overt
restrictions
School access
Educational access
Games (offline or online)
Child as consumer
of content
Subtle to intense
consumption of
content
Technological Difficulties
encountered
Early difficulties
Subtle to overt
Assistance provided
Social mediation provided
Initiation Online
23
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 EMERGED CODES AND BROAD THEMATIC CATEGORIES
Our findings were the product of grounded theory (GT) analysis carried out on the
rich narrations of 124 adolescents living across 7 European countries, purposively
sampled due to showing signs of IAB.
One thousand five hundred (1500) concepts (see Glossary) emerged from
initial open coding conducted locally by each partner. Based on a centrally
implemented merging process 440 concepts were validated and thereafter
clustered into 78 thematic categories of meaning (bold italics in text). These
categories were further developed in terms of their properties and dimensions. An
indicative example of the process of evolution from quotes to concepts and
properties and into thematic category is shown in Table 4 for the category
Initiation Online.
During subsequent stages of analysis, the 78 thematic categories of meaning
were examined for interrelations and were integrated into six broad thematic
(axial) categories (see Glossary), which are presented in Table 5 (page 22). For
details on emerged concepts of each axial category separately see Tables 9-12
(page 125-128) in Annex C and for pivotal interrelations grounding the emerging
model see Table 7 (page 83) in text.
24
Table 5. Broad thematic (axial) categories, their properties, and role in paradigm
Axial category
Always online and
Checking out
Adolescent Thirst
Growing into a
User Content
Creator
From Easing
Adolescence to
Empowering Self
Juggling a
Changing Reality
DIGITAL
OUTCOMES
Properties
 Permanent Engagement: Always
Online
 Sustaining Contact: Checking
Out Online
 Multi-Tabbing and Multi-Tasking
 Internet Use Turning Automatic
and Habitual: Element of
Everyday Life
 Need For Connection to Peers
and The World
 Curiosity for Information
 Need for Self-Searching
 Need for Action
 Online Initiation: Timing and
Mediation
 Peers and Parents Mediating
Online Pathways
 Changing Parental Role, Control
and Practices
 Changing Routine: From
Boredom to Burden
 Easing Adolescence
 Empowering Self
Role in Paradigm
Phenomenon
 Attitude to Change
(Resistance….Readiness)
 Degree of Self-Regulation
 Online Craving
 Offline Engagement
Action/interaction
strategies
Causal condition
The (developmental)
context
Intervening conditions
Consequences
The axial categories were further developed and integrated into a larger
theoretical scheme by employing the coding paradigm (see glossary) where each of
these categories were ascribed a particular role in the emergent theory denoting
the role of phenomenon, causal conditions, context, intervening conditions or
consequences. Axial categories, their properties and roles in the coding paradigm
are shown in Table 5 and their interrelations are graphically depicted in Figure 1
(page 23).
25
Figure 1. Emerged GT Model of Internet use patters among adolescents at risk for IAB
During the final and integrative steps of our analysis, the storyline was developed
which elucidated axial categories’ inter-relations in a narrative style. The core
category (see glossary) was identified and its relevance to the emerging
framework was elaborated upon it. Finally, our emerging theory was validated
against our data with confirmatory analyses of narrations against our model’s
outcomes spurring final refinements to our model.
In this report we employ a top-down presentation of our results. First, we
start with a presentation of the storyline and the core category. We then
undertake an in-depth descriptive presentation of the six emerged axial
categories, which constitute our study’s most salient themes and the building
blocks of our Grounded Theory.
26
3.2 THE STORYLINE
Adolescents’ narrations of their initiation into the Internet and their subsequent
online
personal
progression
was
conceptualized
as
digital
pathways
of
development. By early adolescence, Internet use had escalated to a higher level of
competence and engagement. This process was described as progressing in an
explosive manner propelled forward by the discovery of social media, after which
adolescents narrated being regular users of the Internet and participating in
creating content. This use was coined Growing into a Regular User and a Content
Creator. This phase of online engagement was framed within a backdrop of online
and offline developmental, familial and social changes. Peers and parents were
described as significantly mediating Internet use.
Participants unanimously described being drawn online to quench their
Adolescent Thirst, a need which in our paradigm functioned as the key causal
motive for Internet use. The most prevalent thirst was an innate Curiosity, a need
to Get Answers on a thematically wide range of questions with a focus on attaining
fast and most current information. Another pivotal and commonly described thirst
was the need to Keep in Touch with existing and new contacts. The latter was a
powerful and undisputed motive explicitly described as a need to sustain
continuous online connection in the social network platforms used by the vast
majority of our participants. For a much smaller portion of our participants an
additional
motive
was
their
need
for
personal
exploration
which
was
conceptualized as a need for Self-Searching and testing out possible selves via a
constant pursuit of feedback in the form of Seeking Comments and Likes. An
additional need for Continuous Action was described, interrelated to a need to Kill
Boredom and fill in spare time.
Once adolescents discovered that their thirst for information and social
updates could be easily and readily quenched online, Internet use boomed to the
present phase of Permanent Online Engagement, where Internet is a mode and the
main motive is Sustaining Contact − behaviourally manifested as Checking Out
online happenings. This new state of digital ‘being’ emerged as our study’s central
phenomenon (see Table 5), capturing the currently lived experience of Always
Online and Checking Out. For the majority of participants this mode was achieved
27
and maintained by the use of smart phones and multiple devices, often MultiTabbing and Multi-Tasking in an effort to handle online and offline endeavours.
Online overt behavioural patterns were reinforced and maintained by ample
opportunities to quench adolescent thirst for connection and information access.
Internet use being facilitated on a practical, personal and interpersonal level
resulted into an unanimous agreement among all adolescent that Internet is Easing
Adolescent Life. The domains and the manner by which adolescents were
experiencing this facilitation were influenced by their personal competencies (or
constraints), the latter mediating the degree of facilitation: ranging from sheer
facilitation (Easing) to a more profound “boosting” of self (Empowerment). Online
behaviours were perpetuated through positive online encounters, such as overtly
Being Liked, Gaining Excellence in Games and Filling Empty Time, which renders
adolescents Feeling Boosted. A few individuals especially benefited since the
Internet allowed them to Bypass Personal Barriers (such as shyness) or Escape
Personal Problems or Voids, both of which were described as Empowering Self.
This was a pivotal category functioning as the intervening condition of our
paradigm (see Table 5) since it facilitated increased Online Engagement and was
interrelated to Online Craving, rendering the intervening nature of Easing
Adolescence To Empowering Self as central to the development of an IAB.
In an effort to handle their busy schedules and increased online engagement
our participants developed a variety of behavioural and cognitive strategies which
were adaptive or maladaptive in nature and were implemented either in a
voluntary or involuntary manner incorporating different degree of experienced
pressure and difficulty. These strategies were conceptualized as constituting an
act of Juggling a Changing Reality in an effort to sustain online presence and
keep up with current offline duties. The Degree of Self-Regulation that
participants possessed and their relative Resistance or Readiness for Change
determined the type of strategy used.
As a result of lived experience of being Always Online and Checking Out
and based on the adaptive or maladaptive strategies used to handle it,
participants progressed on their digital pathways and reached their current
lived experience of “digital being”, coined as Digital Outcomes. Digital
28
Outcomes were governed by differential levels of Online Craving and of Offline
Engagement, the interplay of which differentiated participants’ current Internet
use patterns. Some participants described distress and lack of control and relayed
Being Stuck Online or “Addicted”, often to specific online applications, such as
social networking and gaming. These experiences were linked with maladaptive
strategies such as low levels of Prioritizing and high levels of Normalizing
excessive use. For some adolescents digital pathways were cyclical in nature and
were governed by negotiations of control and awareness of maladaptive use. They
described having experienced Excess or Distress in the Past and having found ways
to come out of this difficulty. Change was described as occurring after realizing
that offline alternatives are worthier, which brought about a Self-Correction
process governed by self-regulation and behavioural modification, described as
Coming Full Cycle. An alternative less effortful route to Coming Full Cycle was
described as Saturation occurring after an original period of enthusiasm and overengagement. A third group of adolescents who possessed internal resources of selfdiscipline and sufficient self-regulation described being able to handle Internet use
and somehow integrate it smoothly into their daily schedule. This pathway was
described as Juggling it All. The last identified Digital Outcome was that of Killing
Boredom, capturing the lived experience of adolescents who found their offline
environment boring or dreary. For this group, the Internet provided a handy and
comfortable time filler of low excitement and enthusiasm.
As becomes evident, Digital Outcomes were shaped by the interaction of
the physical and virtual world and by the way adolescents experienced them
both as contexts of growth. Adolescents’ narrations included, explicit or implicit,
comparative evaluations of general advantages and disadvantages, as well as of
personal losses and benefits of growing into the physical and the virtual world. The
perceived complementarity, convergence or discrepancy in adolescents’ accounts
of their two worlds of development exemplified Digital Pathways and the broader
developmental process of Navigating Adolescent Pathways. This process
integrates online and offline developmental trajectories of change and
experimentation
unfolding
in
parallel,
crisscrossed
or
intergraded.
Consequently, the way adolescents experienced and negotiated the dynamic
29
mutual interplay between the two worlds attained the status of our core thematic
category: Navigating Adolescent Pathways.
3.3 BROAD THEMATIC CATEGORIES AND DISCUSSION
Six broad thematic categories emerged from our analyses and are presented in
detail below including their relevant emerged concepts, properties, role and
interrelation to the coding paradigm. Concepts and properties are supported by
participating adolescents’ quotes, followed by their corresponding gender, age,
country of origin and reference number (in parenthesis).
3.3.1 GROWING INTO A CONTENT CREATOR
This broad thematic category captures and integrates themes pertaining to
developmental and social conditions and constitutes the context against which the
phenomenon Always Online and Checking Out unfolded. Narrations relevant to
adolescents’ surrounding social context were centred on peers, parents and daily
routine. The wider developmental context is mid-adolescence, a time of rapid
changes on a physical, cognitive and relational level. The theme of change was
salient across narrations pertaining to contextual conditions which were
characterized by four main properties:
Online Initiation: Timing and Mediation
Peers Mediating Online Pathways
Changing Parental Role, Control and Practices
Changing Routine: From Boredom to Burden
The personal evolution in online time engagement and skills acquisition was
conceptualized as digital pathways, beginning sometime between middle
childhood and pre-adolescence (the elementary years) when our participants had
their first contact with the Internet. Online Initiation was socially mediated and
typically characterized by limited use − both in time and breath of applications. A
slow online evolution was described especially for those who were still in middle
childhood, whereas the pace of progression was accelerated for participants who
30
started using the Internet in pre-adolescence. The initial stage was followed by a
salient evolution and skill progression, marked by the changing nature of online
activities-mediated by peers, parents and the daily routine. A turning point in the
initial progression of digital pathways is the shift to content creation as denoted in
Growing into a Regular User and a Content Creator. For details on emerged
concepts and properties of this thematic category see Table 9 in Annex C.
First experiences with the Internet included descriptions of the earliest online
contact (Recollecting Initiation) and of the way participants were introduced to
the Internet (Learning style). During the initial online phase, the child was
typically assisted or guided by a more expert user − a parent, a sibling or a friend.
A Learning Style of guided assistance was commonly described across participants
and across countries:
I was in secondary school, my dad taught me how to search on the Internet in
order to do my homework, he used to stay with me.
Girl, 16 years, Romania (15)
Evidence for Observational learning was found in the narrations as well −
with many participants describing “watching others” using the Internet and
thereafter replicating observed online behaviours:
I started learning by watching others: how they use the Internet or the
computer. I mean, I didn’t get any direct indications. They didn’t tell me what
to do, I would just observe them, I replicate at home on my computer and
online.
Boy, 16 years, Romania (13)
Consistent with emerged patterns of learning style there is previous
evidence indicating that informal guided assistance is typical in childhood. A
report coming from the U.S. (NetDay, 2004) showed that 6th to 12th graders relied
5
Denotes characteristics of the participant: gender, age, country of origin and interview number.
31
upon their informal learning environments and networks to learn about technology.
Friends, family or observational learning (among those who explored on their own)
were the primary sources for information about new technologies and Internet
sites rather than formal learning environments (e.g. school).
In contrast to common patterns of learning style, marked differences
emerged across countries in regards to the timing of the earliest contact −
typically described in chronological or grade level terms − and the ensuing
recollection that was of varying degree of Vividness. The variability in the
vividness of recollection was captured in the dimensional range of this significant
property − from recent-distinct memory to distant-vague memory. An interesting
trend emerged whereby adolescents living in northern European countries (NL, IS,
D, PL) found it difficult to recall their very first online experiences when prompted
to do so. These participants described the Internet as deeply embedded in their
early childhood memories and found it difficult to recall earliest online
experiences:
I don’t know anymore how I came into contact with the Internet.
Boy, 16 years, The Netherlands (12)
I don’t know, it just happened. It’s such a long time ago. I think I was about
six years old when I first started to look something up in the Internet, just
google something.
Boy, 16 years, Germany (18)
The Internet? (surprised) The Internet has been there since I can remember,
always.
Boy, 15 years, Poland (15)
On the contrary, for most participants in Greece, Spain and Romania the
Internet entered into their life in mid to late elementary school years (and in a few
cases in early secondary school), making the first online experiences distinctly
remembered. Some participants viewed their initiation as “delayed” or ”late” or
occurring at an “older age” − usually explaining it as practical constrains (lack of
home Internet access or device):
32
Well, I started using the Internet when I received a computer as a first
communion present6.
Boy, 16 years, Spain (4)
The Internet, I started using it at an older age, when I was 8 or 9 years old.
Boy, 16 years, Greece (18)
Care should be taken in attributing the observed differences in the timing of
initiation on cultural aspects or parental mediation processes. Alternatively,
context-specific
technological
conditions
and
in
particular
local
Internet
penetration rates may offer a better explanation of the reported differences.
Noteworthy, Iceland has the highest Internet penetration rate (97% penetration in
population) in the world, while the Netherlands and Germany hold the 8 th (89.5%)
and 16th positions (82.7%) respectively. Contexts with high broadband connectivity
offer added convenience to connect online. The remaining of our participating
countries have rates below 65%7.
Peers Mediating Online Pathways
Participants described both the active and indirect processes by which
siblings and friends acted both as coaches and as models of online behaviour − in
most cases purposively guiding participants into becoming involved online.
Mediation was not always direct in the form of assistance but indirectly as well
through prevailing contextual practices as in the case of Peer Friending Practices
which constituted facilitative conditions in the progression of digital pathways.
Adherence to Peer Norms of Internet use and specifically participation to social
networking platforms was strongly reflected in adolescents’ narrations and
interrelated to their need to belong to peer-groups and avoid exclusion.
Consequently, Exclusion Avoidance clearly mediated their progression into higher
levels of engagement. The Internet allows adolescents to create and reinforce
social norms which lead to distinct peer group knowledge. For instance, topics
6
Typically at 9 years of age
7
Spain; Poland: 62%; Greece: 47%; Romania 39.2% from http://www.internetworldstats.com/europa.htm
33
discussed in the schoolyard often pertain to the Internet and as such require online
presence to enable participation in relevant offline discussions. Non-participation
in online normative activities was described as putting adolescents at risk for
social exclusion or leading to inadequate “social presence”:
Once I even read somewhere on the Internet that people who are not on
Facebook are not alive. (laughter)
Girl, 15 years, Poland (16)
“Hanging out” on SNS was described as a peer daylong habit while the “etiquette”
(New Social Etiquette) and practices governing SNS use were distinct in their own
way − adolescents described new social practices taking place through the use of
SNS. One distinct example of online social practices altering the adolescent social
scene was how befriending starts online (First Online):
It’s occurred to me that it’s weird that I am from a generation that first gets
to know each other and then meets each other in person. You see that
happening ever more on Twitter and such things. People who meet each other
online and then in real life, that’s never happened in the past.
Online Flirting was mentioned by many participants, while starting and
ending online romantic relationships was described as well. New Approach
Strategies were shown as evolving on SNS and described as overcoming face-toface interpersonal difficulties, such as adolescent shyness. These “strategies” were
presented as the “new” way to initiate contact online, rather distinct from faceto-face contact:
Ok basically most people talk first in Facebook and then when they meet up
they may talk in person. Otherwise no guy will come up to you and say hello.
(I: Why not?) Because it no longer works this way. Mostly because guys are
very shy and they can’t approach you out of the blue and say hi. While in
Facebook, ok they will find something to comment on, like a photo, and then
they will pick up a chat. It works this way. They are looking for an occasion.
Girl, 14 years, Greece (10)
34
Acknowledging online friends’ content by uploading “Likes” was another
very frequently described daily online practice. Receiving comments and likes
seemed to have high importance for some participants (Have to Have Comments)
while non-response to uploaded material was considered as lack of interest:
That I have to do something so people in my life get in my profile. If people
don’t get in my Tuenti8, that’s like if you stop being interesting to people.
The overarching theme in peer mediation was the changing friending
practices and the potency of peer social “pressure” along the narrated need to
adhere to norms of online behaviour. Noteworthy was that adolescents ascribed
heightened importance to online interactions and reactions, similarly as they did
to offline peer feedback. It has been previously suggested that adolescents selfesteem can be influenced by feedback received online (Valkenburg & Peters,
Schouten, 2006).
Changing Parental Role, Control and Practices
Parents were described as directly guiding participants in their early digital steps
(in childhood) while presently (in adolescence) change was a salient theme and
altering parental mediation was typically described. Parental Mediation practices
were shown to operate on a direct behavioural level (Loosened Parental
Monitoring) and on an indirect socio-cognitive level (Parental Ambivalence).
Loosened Parental Monitoring was described as a shift in the surveillance
and guidance in regards to time spent online and in applications used. Many
participants ascribed a degree of personal growth inherent in the changing
parental monitoring and both (growing and changing parenting) were closely linked
with Internet use across narrations. Increased independence was salient in most
stories, although to different degrees and closely interrelated to increased
Internet use, suggesting that Increased Independence was shown to be a requisite
8
Tuenti – Social Network Service mainly used in Spain
35
to digital progression. Greater Freedom was narrated as prevailing both online
and offline, at times described as a shift to self-regulation:
[I am] reasonably free. I get all the freedom from my mum in actually
everything, on the Internet and also when it comes to returning home. How
late you get home, etcetera, but you can put your own restrictions. My mum
would allow me to be behind my computer the whole day. She is not that
strict so that she would switch off the computer like my father would do. But
she did teach me that after a while I myself should think, “No now it’s
enough”.
Oh yes! Now that I am older and have more things to do and parents give you
more freedom, well maybe I use it more.
Not all adolescents experienced the same degree of change in parental
involvement and this ranged from loosened parental supervision (most typical) to
on-going parental restrictions (in a few cases). In cases of on-going parental
restrictions, most participants viewed them as ‘annoying’ although a few
adolescents admitted that restrictions came ‘in handy’ in keeping Internet use
down:
Yes it’s them [the parents] trying to keep it [the Internet use] down (...)
Honestly, it’s just incredibly annoying but can also come in handy.
Boy, 15 years, Iceland (10)
When the parents were leaving the house they saw that I wasn’t asleep, that
I was online, and they got really mad at me. I told them it would never
happen again.
Adolescents whose parents imposed strict restrictions used various ways to
Bypass Parental Control (further elaborated in section 3.3.5).
Parental Ambivalence was conceptualized as a cognitive facilitator in the
progression of digital pathways and increased engagement − a robust theme
36
representing mixed parental attitudes towards the Internet and its use.
Participants described receiving both positive and negative views on Internet
utility and safety from their parents with no consistency on their behalf. Some
participants reported a discrepancy between parental preaching and parental
behaviours. The discrepant and blurry parental stance gave adolescents room for
interpretation and often a stepping-stone for defying parental rules.
In regard to the parent-child role, some narrations related to a Role
Reversal taking place online − the child becomes the teacher of online skills and
the parent is the naïve learner. These narrations primarily referred to the digital
naiveté of parents. Some adolescents were less responsive to parental requests for
assistance while others took initiative and suggested that parents open accounts on
Facebook for example:
She would also like to learn more about it [the Internet] because she doesn’t
really know how to use it. And I wouldn’t like to teach her (laughing). I get
bored, she’s a slow learner. She usually wants to get on Messenger or
Facebook and I’m like `No way! You have nothing to see. She is allowed to
play, and that is all [laughing].
In sum, adolescents’ regular Internet use and attainment of digital creator
status seems to be mediated by diminished parental control and by recounted
parental ambivalence. Previous studies based on parental self-reports confirm such
varied attitudes with the vast majority of parents acknowledging Internet’s
educational potential (Livingstone, 2003) while simultaneously expressing concerns
over adolescents’ psychological adjustment (Lenhart, Madden & Hitlin, 2005;
Livingstone & Bober, 2004). The described inconsistency between parental beliefs
and behaviours has been explained by the limited knowledge parents have on
Internet technology, as compared to their children (Lenhart, Rainie & Lewis, 2001)
and by the growing difficulty among parents to penetrate Internet use
(Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 2008). Surveys indicate that most parents of
adolescent children neither set rules nor monitor their children’s use closely
(Lenhart & Madden, 2007; Rosen, Cheever & Carrier, 2007). A number of studies
with high school students showed decreased parental control with less than 15% of
37
adolescents reporting any parental restrictions (Rogers, Taylor, Cunning, Jones &
Taylor, 2006) while in earlier studies 21% reported parental use of Internet filters
and 18% claimed parental knowledge of sites visited (Roberts, Foehr, Rideout &
Brodie, 1999).
Changing Routine: From Boredom to Burden
Most adolescents described their daily routine as a busy time with multiple
endeavours taking place in school and out-of-school. The adolescent routine was
unanimously described as a Structured Routine − a routine governed by regularity
and repetition with multiple mentions of time pressure (“no time”, “rushed”,
“late”). In regards to the demands imposed, descriptions varied significantly
between participants and countries and this divergence was captured in the
continuum Loaded Vs. Boring Teen Routine. Some adolescents described their
routine as easy-going while others referred to overload and distress. Offline
engagements differed significantly across countries. Greek, Spanish and Romanian
adolescents commonly described a “heavy” academic schedule and a “loaded”,
“tiring” or “busy” daily routine. For these adolescents, their online time was
embedded in their structured routine:
It’s very busy. And because it’s so busy I make up plans in my head, so that I
can do them all. I mean I know I have to go to school, go out for a bit, go
home, and do my homework and then Internet (smiling). It is something
normal.
Other participants, primarily those living in the Netherlands, Germany and
Iceland, did not refer to academic overload but described a full − equally “tiring”−
schedule with additional duties beyond academics, including house chores and jobs
in some cases:
I have long days at school, because school finishes at 16:15 except for
Tuesdays. So then I am often really tired after school; besides that I also have
different things I do next to school. Babysitting or playing sports, getting
together with my boyfriend.
Girl, 16 years, The Netherlands (15)
38
A few participants described being academically under-challenged and
having a lot of free time. For this group, the Internet was presented as a handy
way to Kill Boredom (see section 3.3.2). Therefore, the pathway to increased
online engagement was described either spurring from boredom or from
overload and burden − either academic or extra-curricular. In both cases
participants often described using the Internet as a means for “getting away” from
their burdens while Internet time was perceived as their very personal time (My
Time and Space). Adolescents view the Internet as their own “space” where they
can develop their own individuality and make their own decisions. Similarly,
researchers in the SAFT study found that adolescents reported experiencing the
Internet as a “liberating free zone where teenagers’ own logic and set of rules
reign” (Bjørnstad & Ellingsen, 2004, p. 32).
Growing Into a User and a Content Creator
Following the initial phase of engagement, a normative phase of gradually
increasing online engagement spurred. This typically took place in early
adolescence and influenced by peers, parents and routine. Common in the
narrations was an increase in the time spent online and a personal leap into the
next “level” of Internet engagement, that of Content Creator. This status came in
contrast with earliest practices when the novice users spent limited amounts of
time online, engaging in few online activities related to Content Consumption.
Many participants described that in earlier years Internet use was confined to
“consuming” games and seeking information, for school and personal use. The
changing role of the Internet in the adolescent life was widely elaborated and is
well captured in the narration of a Dutch participant:
Yes, in the beginning Internet was a way to spend free time, originally
Internet was the goal, now it’s more the medium by which things can be
done.
39
With entry in secondary school, the Internet evolved into a means, a tool to
access information, to develop skills and to build social networks. This dynamic
evolution appeared as a natural evolution in the digital pathways, going hand-inhand with offline growth and the typical adolescent development and exploration.
The word discovery was very often used and depicted digital explorations, often
described as opening up novice online activities and increasing online engagement:
I have discovered new music groups, new ideas, and new things that I would
have never known them to exist, and I discovered them through the Internet,
and these things have changed my life in various ways.
The Discovery of Social Networks was one of the most memorable and
vividly narrated online experience described as “amazing” or opening up “a new
world”. The multiplicity of social media turned young users into more involved
users.
At home I was the first to use social media, because my friends discovered
Facebook and thought it was amazing and so I had to have it. So they [my
friends] set it up for me and then I started using it at home.
Social media were used by every single one of our participants with social
networking, sharing and gaming being the protagonists of online applications used.
Setting up accounts in peer-preferred platforms, generating and sharing content on
these platforms were described as the Expected Online Norm − denoted by the
frequent use of the adverb of course and the proactive set up indication:
When I entered Gymnasium I set up an email account and then I used the net
more often and I learned through friends about some sites; so eventually I
myself set up an account on Facebook and then also set up a hi5 (...) Of
course I use YouTube for songs and videos and of course some online games as
well.
40
With immersion in social media and especially social networks, adolescents
turned into Creators Of Digital Content, finding ways to express personal opinions
and identities (expanded in section 3.3.4 From Easing Adolescence to Empowering
Self). The category Content Creator was closely interrelated with developmental
leaps in “maturity” and growth and as such this category was labelled Growing
into a User and a Content Creator.
A number of studies (e.g. Chang, 2006; Lorenzo et al., 2007) support the
pronounced
shift
from
entertainment
and
consumption
of
content
to
communication and creation of content. Such a shift can be explained by the
introduction of Web 2.0 technologies (e.g. blogs, wikis, SNS, Social bookmarking
services, P2P (peer-to-peer) networks) which allowed alliances and sharing
between users (O’Reilly, 2005). The documentation of adolescents’ regular use of
such applications (Cairncross, 2007; Kvavik, 2005; Oliver & Goerke, 2007) has
granted them the label ‘prosumers’ (Chang, 2006) or ‘produmers’ (Towers, Smith
& Bruns, 2005).
3.3.2 ADOLESCENT THIRST
This category captures the underlying needs and motivation for daily online
presence which were described as thirst for social interaction, knowledge of the
world and themselves. Adolescents Thirst constitutes the causal condition in our
theory, driving adolescents into being “Always online and checking out” (see Table
5). Participants described using the Internet primarily for communication and
social exchange and were most interested in the Internet’s opportunities for
searching information. Adolescent thirst was centred on four properties; Curiosity
for information, Need for Connection to Peers and the World, Need for SelfSearching, and Need for Action. For details on emerged concepts see Table 10 in
Annex C.
Curiosity for Information
Adolescent Thirst captures their interest in almost anything new. The most
prevalent Thirst was Curiosity for Information − attaining fast and most current
information in order to Get Answers on a wide range of questions. Although the
41
thirst for knowledge is quenched on a daily basis in an offline setting as well, the
Internet allows adolescents to gain instant access and to be able to drill deeper in
all topics they are interested in (e.g. learning to play the guitar, to draw, to cook,
to create a website or to use certain professional programs):
I have googled just about everything, from how you should dress with this or
that and just for baking and cooking and just everything.
Girl, 15 years Iceland (3)
Adolescents keep themselves updated on political, economic and cultural
issues and make plans for their future education or professional path. In this sense,
the Internet engagement affects their personal development and helps them to
become more knowledgeable:
Uhm, knowledge. Knowledge and self-development (...) I think that if you, I
mean I am now in a the age of 15, so I think it’s important to take up as much
information as you can about the world around you.
Teens are typically continuously online, constantly checking out new
information which is significantly supported by mobile devices and Internet flat
rates. The need for being up to date and the importance of curiosity for upcoming
hypes further supports the regular use of the Internet:
Uhh, constantly, but that is a bit because I have the function of a trend
watcher. Because of that of course. That’s also expected from me that I am
aware of new developments.
Need for Connection to Peers and the World
Participant’s Thirst for Connection to Peers stems from the basic psychological
need for connection to the people in one’s environment:
42
The most important reason? To stay up to date about everything that is
happening, what people are doing, what they think, what they want, what
they are going to do, what they have done.
Adolescents described being thirsty for new social input. A commonly
reported vehicle that adolescents used to quench their thirst were social
networking sites (SNS). For adolescents, the Internet facilitates Keeping in Touch
which was often mentioned by participants − especially when planning various
activities or being restricted by time or distance from meeting face-to-face:
I talk via Skype. With those who live far away. For example I talk to one
friend all the time, he's from the Netherlands. And with my uncle who works
in England. This Skype, it's good.
Need for Self-Searching
Adolescents described using the internet for Self-Searching, namely exploring their
identity via “testing” their SNS profile − their digital self-representation. This was
done by uploading photos and comments and waiting for feedback from “friends”,
often by actively Seeking Comments and Likes:
The Internet is designed to make you communicate, to be in line with all the
information, technology, everything related to the field in science, everything
that interests you, sometimes even to your self-discovery.
Just as online behaviours are often guided by the need for feedback, online
encounters were narrated as shaping adolescents’ behaviours based on online
“standards”, including stylistic or behavioural standards as depicted in the
category Altering Behaviours Online:
My style has certainly changed because of Facebook. Let’s say the Internet
sets some standards, and each one of us is trying to gain something out of this
(...) and one’s character changes and one’s style − everything. The Internet
tells you this and you do this.
43
Need for Action
The need for action, variety and a thirst for stimulating events was commonly
reported by the participants of this study. In that respect the Internet offers a
multitude of opportunities, which were used by the participating adolescents, to
quench this need. This phenomenon is exemplified in the following quotes:
The world cannot turn more interesting. It is the way you see the world, the
people you choose, and the way you opt to put your thoughts into actions. It is
you who makes your life more interesting, or less so. You can either sit around
on your couch and do nothing, or you can get out there and do a million
things, things which have not crossed your mind how fun they are.
Well, football (...) I play football (...) I like to play football, and then, for
instance, regarding action such as in Call of Duty, I like, well (...) the action
[of those games] and they are entertaining.
Adolescent’s daily routine offers the opportunity to use the Internet as a
remedy for boredom. However, some participants describe that the Internet often
does not bring real relief and may even be boring in itself:
I would say that boredom is in a way connected, you know, like when I have
been, like first I go on the net and then I’m done with the things I need to do,
and then there is nothing else to do on the net and then I get bored. Still, you
know, one feels like one have to be on the net to not get bored. So in that
way I’m not doing anything in some way.
Girl, 15 years, Iceland (2)
Most of the time I‘m bored, but sometimes I‘m also bored online.
Because I’m probably fed up with searching on the Internet or I get bored
because there are so many things that get repeated.
Some participants are breaking this helix of boredom and start to become
professionals in some areas, e.g. homepage programming, learning from Photoshop
tutorials or being head of a gaming clan:
44
Most of the programs I often use are more related to business, because I can
gain money through them, like computer generated graphics, Corel,
Photoshop, Word, Publish, Power Point, I enjoy working on them, it helps and
I like it, I mean it helps me relax, I find myself in all of them, especially in
Corel and Photoshop and other programs, these I use more often.
Research among adolescents has identified 3 general types of motives that
drive adolescents to go online: information gathering/seeking, interpersonal
communication and entertainment (Wolfradt & Doll, 2001). Another study with
Israeli adolescents corroborated these main motives in addition to academic type
of Internet use, such as distant learning and school work (Nachmias, Mioduser &
Shemla, 2000). Researching and communicating also appeared as the prevailing
motives drawing college students into the Internet (Gordon et al., 2007; Rodgers &
Sheldon, 2002). All these findings lend further support to the documented needs
from participants’ narrations.
Online communication permeates the everyday life of youngsters (Lenhart
et al., 2005) and a number of empirical findings confirm that communication, if
not the most salient, is one of the main reasons for Internet use among adolescents
(Gordon et al., 2007; Wolfradt & Doll, 2001). Of European 13-16 year olds, 77%
have a profile on a SNS (Livingstone et al., 2011) while very recent data suggests
that 70% of 14-17 year olds in Europe use SNS daily (Tsitsika et al., 2013).
Adolescents use social networks sites to form new social relationships but also to
maintain existing social ties (Bryant, Sanders-Jackson & Smalwood, 2006; Mesch,
2009), as the vast majority of adolescents predominately interact with existing
friends rather than strangers (Valkenburg & Peter, 2007) and specifically with their
offline friends (Gross, 2004). This connectivity is active (Lenhart, 2009) with the
vast majority of them commenting on friends’ posted pictures (83%) or/and on
friends’ blogs (66%), posting private (71%) and public messages (77%) to their pages
and chatting with them via Instant Messaging (IM) (54%). Furthermore, findings on
blogs (Anderson-Butcher et al., 2010) suggest that adolescents’ postings involved
“community building” motives as most of their content had pro-social purpose.
Adolescents use these social platforms to report regularly on their daily activities,
45
make plans, say hello, provide feedback and post comments. Similar conversation
threads have been found analysing text messaging (Grinter & Eldridge, 2003).
Adolescence is a time of experimentation and testing of adult behaviour.
While the brain is extremely plastic in childhood and a great number of new
connections between neurons are built until the onset of puberty, adolescence is
characterized by an optimization of the brain (Spear, 2000). Via a “fine tuning”
process the brain reorganizes itself by strengthening important and weakening idle
connections, allowing a more effective and efficient performance (Steinberg,
2005).
At the same time the impulse for “tasting” novel experiences and the
exploration of the world is strengthened. On the neurobiological level people
respond to novelties with increased dopamine release in major motivation and
reward centres of the brain (Ljungberg, Apicella & Schultz, 1992; Waelti, Dickinson
& Schultz, 2001). Especially in adolescence, risky behaviour, often associated with
new experiences, is perceived as especially rewarding (cf. Marcotte, Fortin, Potvin
& Papillon, 2002). The stimulation of the reward centre supports the exploration of
the world and is therefore an important catalyst of growing up into an adult.
However, it also leaves young people more prone to risky behaviour. The constant
search for new experiences goes out of sync with the development of the control
areas of the brain, which fully differentiate very late in puberty (Gogtay et al.,
2004). One of the latest areas in the brain to develop is the prefrontal cortex, an
area suggested to be responsible for ensuring that decisions are made based on
previous experiences and on the assessment of the context in which decisions are
made. The combination of increased reward sensitivity and lack of control leads to
a particular risk-taking behaviour in young people, especially regarding rewarding
behaviours (e.g., the use of psychotropic substances, sexually motivated
behaviour, gambling or excessive Internet use) (Marcotte et al., 2002). In general,
Quenching Thirst is the primary motivator of using the Internet. In the present
study Quenching Thirst directly affects the frequency, duration and the content
used. Curiosity is natural for humans — for adolescents it might be even necessary
for growing. The need to learn new things and to explore the world (even if merely
46
virtually) is an important catalyst for developing the self and behavioural routines
that facilitate development and striving in adult lives.
3.3.3 ALWAYS ONLINE AND CHECKING OUT
This pivotal thematic category grasps the present “online being” of adolescents
and constitutes the phenomenon of our GT paradigm (see Table 5) and the central
theme around which the present theory emerged, explaining how excessive IU
develops among adolescents. We conceptualize the developmental progression of
Internet use in adolescence as digital pathways, personal online journeys of
exploration, learning and growth. Digital pathways evolve from the novice user to
a regular user and creator of content, just as the child is developing into an
adolescent. The role of the Internet is evolving just like the child’s needs and
routine evolve to adolescent needs and routine. The Internet was described as
turning from goal (in childhood) to medium (in adolescence), and thereafter
serving as a tool for communication, schoolwork and entertainment. This
progression was commonly narrated with mention of its “typical” or “normative”
nature. With progression on digital pathways came the exposure to a vast array of
online activities and opportunities, bringing about a new online reality
conceptualized as Always Online and Checking Out − a new way of being online
by which the Internet is a mode (see Figure 2). This category assumed the role of
phenomenon in our GT model: a phenomenon which was richly narrated as being
the lived experience of the majority of our participants across all countries. The
relevant narrations were coded into concepts and clustered into four pivotal
properties (see Table 5; for details on emerged concepts see Table 11 in Annex C).
Figure 2. Normative digital pathways leading to the adolescent mode of Always Online
and Checking Out
47
Permanent Engagement: Always Online
When referring to personal patterns of Internet use participants spontaneously
used adverbs such as “always9” or “all day”, “all the time”, “at all times”,
“constantly” or “24/7”. Based on its salience and prominence the adverb “always”
assumed its position in this category’s label: Always Online. Embedded in the
term “always” is the notion of Permanency which constitutes one of the pivotal
characteristic of the phenomenon and was narrated as a conscious way of “being
online”. Some participants described this new mode as a sheer convenience or as a
natural evolution of Internet use, often juxtaposing current continuous use with
previous intermittent patterns of use:
It is always on (...) I leave Tuenti logged on. Then when I come back home, if
I go out and I come back home, I have it ready, I don’t have to switch it on and
all.
Yeah, I actually use my Blackberry 24/7.
Well, yeah, that has changed. Before, after I was finished I always turned it
off, and now it’s like, I don’t know, I just learned that I can leave it on all
day, even when I go out for a minute.
Although Always online was described as the typical adolescent mode, not
all participants described continuous connectivity but instead reported going
online intermittently, thus showing variability in the phenomenon. Intermittent
use was either assumed by choice or imposed externally − typically by the lack of a
handheld device. Some intermittent users commented that this pattern of use was
beyond the peer group norm:
Well, in my case I use the Internet about two or three hours. My friends, as
they have Internet on their mobile phone, well they are always online.
9
The adverb “always” was mentioned 579 times in our Open Codes databank (the complete set of codes from 124
interviews). Across these codes “always” was primarily referring to online use (always online, always on, always on the
Internet, always there, always logged on, always connected)
48
Sustaining Contact: Checking Out Online
Most of the narrations pertaining to the notion of being Always Online were
accompanied by justifications and associated motives. These were most typically
linked to a need for Keeping Up with the peers’ dynamic social scene as unfolding
offline and typically represented online on social media. Sustaining “contact” or
“staying connected” was a pivotal concern and a driving force of many participants
− however stories differed in the way of how this was pursued. Investing Effort
towards this end was often described and this was typically Effortful and
Proactive, attained usually by carrying handheld devices and proactively
messaging, uploading or “tweeting”:
About the use of the Internet (...) I am always active, I mean, I always carry
my mobile phone with me, I have the Internet on all the time, Twitter and
all that (...) I tweet and I am always active there (...) always in constant
communication with other people.
Sustaining connectivity and not “loosing contact” was especially effortful
and safeguarded even under some (adverse) conditions, by ingenuous methods:
Em when I was involved in a car crash (...) I had a broken hand I couldn’t use
the Internet. So for approximately two to three weeks I wasn’t using the
computer a lot by myself, but simply, I had someone else next to me and he
would be in my web pages and I would tell him what to do and whom to
respond to, so I wouldn’t lose my contacts. I was involved with a girl for the
first time and I didn’t want us to lose contact. My brother would talk to her. I
would tell him what to write and my brother would type.
Interrelated to Investing Effort was the notion of Ensuring Connectivity
which was associated with devices and access. To ensure continuous connectivity,
the majority of participants described using at least two devices. At home and at
school most participants used desktop computers or laptops while the majority also
owned handheld devices. iPods were most frequently used whereas smart-phones
were common but not the norm in most countries. There was considerable
variation among participants with respect to the availability of devices which was
49
primarily restricted by budget but also associated with parental permissiveness.
Only a few adolescents described having mobile flat rate access and as such
unlimited access.
Social networking was the primary motive for staying continuously online
and this was described as the need to Sustain the Information Flow and Avoid
Missing Out updates on current events and friends’ news. The overt behavioural
manifestation of this need was described as continuously checking 10 online which
was conceptualized as Checking Out11 − a continuous process of checking what is
being uploaded:
Yeah, I don’t really log off that often, I just click it off and then five minutes
later I check again. (...) I have read my new messages and checked what
other people said and then I log off.
I always use [the Internet], always check new developments.
References to online peer norms were widespread in the narrations either to
justify the constant online mode (“everyone does it”) or to explicate the needs
such a mode facilitates. Most narrations related to personal use but some were
phrased in the third person referring to peers or to normative peer practice:
Yeah, they [peers with Internet on their telephones] need to stay online,
otherwise they miss something. They keep checking if there is anything new.
Girl, 16 years, The Netherlands (16)
This Dutch adolescent is also voicing here the conspicuous inter-connection
of the continuous connectivity and its prevailing motive: “keep checking if there is
anything new” − a relationship often articulated in narrations. Based on the
prominence of always (the mode), the salience of checking out (the prevailing
10
The verb “check” appeared 223 times in our Open Codes databank (the complete set of open codes from 124 interviews).
The preposition “out” was added to the verb “checking” to denote the outward or social orientation of the act of
checking, which can be seen as coming in contrast to the type of checking that is done in a maladaptive manner (as in the
case of OCD disorders) in which the checking is a symptom compensatory in nature.
11
50
motive), and their conspicuous interconnection, the two properties were combined
to form the phenomenon’s label Always Online: Checking Out.
Multi-Tabbing and Multi-Tasking
The phenomenon’s dynamic nature is reflected in the notion of Multi-Tabbing
which depicts the narrated behavioural manifestation of how online presence is
achieved simultaneously on many platforms. Most typically adolescents described
using more than one application concurrently, usually social networking or
chatting, while also listening to music or browsing platforms, thus grasping
multiple online opportunities. In addition to multi-tabbing, adolescents report
concurrent multi-tasking by carrying out offline duties in parallel with being
online. The most commonly of such described activities was homework or having
dinner in front of the screen. Multi-tasking was seen as an effort to combine or
juggle online and offline duties and most often appeared effortless and natural; as
described by a Polish girl and further elaborated in the section 3.3.5 Juggling a
Changing Reality:
Not one day passes without me logging in to Facebook. Facebook is
constantly on, when I do my homework, when I’m having breakfast or dinner
Facebook is always on.
Multi-tasking has previously been associated with distractibility (Larson,
2000) and students have reported difficulties completing school assignments,
studying for exams and focus attention during classes (Chou, 2001; Tsai & Lin,
2003).
Internet Turning Automatic and Habitual Element of Everyday Life
Some of the narrations showed a certain degree of Automaticity in the way the
checking out was done − often in a ritualistic manner:
Ehm I am actually more [online], well even more when, when I switch on the
computer, I go to Teamspeak automatically and wait, until someone shows
up or maybe there are already people and then I just chat with them.
51
The majority of participants described Internet use as a Habit with patterns
of use showing regularity in the adolescent routine, such as going online first thing
in the morning or last thing at night, typically justified for checking emails and
updates on SNS. Interrelated to the habitual nature of Internet use were
descriptions of the Internet being an Element Of Everyday Life or a “standard”,
suggesting that Internet use is well integrated in the adolescent routine:
A routine, very much like a routine, always the same thing. School, the
Internet and that’s it, well, except for the weekend, but week days are like
that.
It’s this thing that, when I come back home, do my homework, talk a little, I
turn my computer on and just browse quickly through whatever I can. Talk to
someone, play a game. It’s an element of my everyday life.
Because it has become a bit of a habit I think. Everybody knows. Yeah, it’s
just a standard part of everybody’s life I think.
As previously suggested, favorite online activities can become automatic
through repetition and can be activated even in a state of limited awareness in
response to contextual cues (LaRose, 2011).
Online over-engagement has previously been described as maladaptive with
potential negative effects in well-being (Ybarra, Alexander & Mitchell, 2005). In
contrast, our participants described being Always Online as a normative “mode”, a
way to follow peer norms, a way to “hang-out”, and check out updates, thus
indicating a more normative bearing. Similarly, in a content analysis of comments
elicited from 13-19 year olds, the top ten words used to express how going online
made them feel included: happy, connected, good, excited, free, entertained,
bored, interested, sociable, and independent (Page, Mapstone & MediaSnackers,
2010). These terms reveal important functions that Internet serves (as noted in
section 3.3.2 Adolescent Thirst) as well as specific needs and states associated
with the period of adolescence. This point is illustrated in the qualitative study of
52
Quayle, Jonsson & Lööf (2012) who found that “always online” is a way of living for
adolescents.
In a meta-analysis of 10 qualitative studies on heavy Internet users, Douglas
et al. (2008) found that Internet’s ubiquity was a key theme contributing to
‘extensive’ use and was associated with the ease of access, the availability of
information and communication potentials (Chou, 2001; Ng & Wiemer-Hastings,
2005). Evidently, these features have a special lustre to adolescents who are
experiential, interactive, opportunistic information-seekers (Lenhart et al., 2005)
and also information-distributors (Dresang, 2005). Being always connected (and
preferably mobile), they check out happenings through web surfing and social
interactions, anywhere and anytime, while expecting immediate answers to
questions and fast access to information (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005). Moreover,
because rapid change characterizes both the period of adolescence and the web
technology, the need to be updated comes in response to fast changing realities of
adolescents’ lives. Hence it is not surprising that the digital environment where
youngsters grow and the developmental challenges they face have both shaped
their information-seeking behaviour and in this vein of reasoning ‘Always online
and Checking out’ can be considered an adaptive mode. To conclude on the
adaptive or maladaptive nature of the phenomenon Always Online we need to
address the self-perceived consequences for adolescent functioning. Towards this
end we first need to look into intervening conditions mediating the phenomenon
and the strategies undertaken to handle it, which are covered in the two following
sections.
3.3.4 FROM EASING ADOLESCENCE TO EMPOWERING SELF
This thematic category captures and integrates themes pertaining to conditions
which facilitate (or constrain) being Always Online and Checking Out. The
facilitating conditions emerged as representing a continuum, ranging from Easing
to Empowerment. For details on emerged concepts see Table 12 in Annex C.
53
Easing
The Internet is described to ease life in several ways. By using social networks,
adolescents overcome time restrictions. This is an important aspect because
adolescents may not have the time − next to school and personal duties − to meet
all of their friends in person. Adolescents can easily stay in contact and
communicate both with close-by friends in their hometown and with friends or
relatives who are living far away. Adolescents can handle almost everything online
without even leaving their room.
By viewing other people´s online profiles, pictures they have uploaded,
comments they have made on different topics and the information they give about
themselves (hobbies, taste of music, etc.), adolescents can easily form first
impressions about other users. One might find personal similarities, which
facilitate contact initiation and conversation among users who develop such
approaching strategies as they turn to the Internet to quench their Thirst for
Social Connections and Updates (see section 3.3.2):
Well, (short pause) If you see a girl you like, but you are too shy to speak to
her you can simply add her on Facebook. (...) You start a conversation. That‘s
really neutral. Then you meet with her and you talk to her at school for real.
You get to know the person a bit more and you are up to write more personal
things to her.
Well, I think (short pause) if I want to meet someone, it’s easier for me to
write something on the Internet than go up to them and talk in real life. You
can say a bit more on the Internet.
However, the Internet is also perceived as simply easing the access and the
flow of all types of information:
The computer definitely helps me with studies, because things I can’t find in
books and which are somewhere in the house, one can always find online. For
example, while doing homework, sometimes I may not know something, some
formulae, whatever. And that information is easier to find online rather than
looking through a pile of books.
54
The need of facilitating academic duties was clearly depicted by
participants in the concept Cutting Corners. Here adolescents described using
various shortcuts for completing their homework, e.g. by copying from the Internet
or from open access-libraries:
I mean, I don’t post stuff myself but I use what other people have put on the
Internet. If there’s some assignment that I can’t manage, I just write it down
and then try to understand it later. (...) I mean, I generally try to Google stuff
but sometimes people put up stuff they did on Facebook.
In some cases adolescents transfer the recently gained social strength and
empowerment from their online experiences to real world interactions and
communication. For these participants, it has become easier to talk to people, as
for instance at school without feeling embarrassed or afraid:
I’m more outgoing than I used to be. Now it‘s easier to meet people because
I made positive experiences. If you contact somebody via Internet you
actually never get something like “Get away! Who are you?” as a response. It’s
more probable that they welcome you. And I noticed that it is the same in
real life. Or at least it is most of the time. It‘s rarely the case that somebody
says: “What do you want?“. They welcome you, too, like they do on the
Internet. Most people don‘t know that.
In a good way I became more open, anyway after a long period of using the
Internet. It became easier to talk to someone, online and in real life. And
this thing has many advantages for me. I mean, on this topic I have no
problems.
In addition, they enlarge their circle of friends which is also more diversified
with respect to age, nationality, gender, education or social background. Their
friendships seem to be less superficial and more in-depth: They take care of each
other, talk about problems, support each other and share important aspects of
their life (music, games, fashion, videos, films, opinions, facts).
55
Thus, adolescents described the Internet as facilitating their lives in many
ways, providing entertainment, contributing to the development of new
friendships and helping them to keep in touch with peers and finding information.
Empowerment
A digital gratification of the narrated needs and motives of Internet use (e.g.
Curiosity for Information, Need for Self-searching) was described as satisfying
Adolescent Thirst (see section 3.3.2) thus providing the basis for adolescents’
social and psychological empowerment.
Social networks offer adolescents a platform where they can present
themselves in a self-chosen way. They have the opportunity to create a more
multifaceted picture of who they (really) are. In fact, adolescents are interested in
the impression others have of them:
Maybe because on Facebook, what counts is the way other people see you.
By uploading photo albums which they fill with photos of vacations, birthday
parties or just daily happenings, everyone who is interested in them can take part
in their lives. Receiving comments and “likes” and getting affirmation of their
physical appearance makes them feel more self-confident and more comfortable
with themselves. Such positive experiences seem to contribute to their social and
psychological empowerment:
Yes they are, because you show yourself more and (pause) and if you have
many “likes” you are considered good looking if I may say so (pause) so if you
believe that others think you are good looking you feel self-confidence and
(pause) you don’t have self-concerns and (pause) some stuff is worked out.
Yes, this is it.
Adolescents can also become commentators of their own lives. On social
media such as forums, chat rooms, Twitter or their own blogs, adolescents have
the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings with the world. They share
56
sites, films, games, music, applications, etc. on a regular basis − sometimes even
to get the empowering feeling of having discovered it first. This kind of sharing
was narrated as often being competitive. Here the winner is the person with the
largest amount of new and most unique information:
Yes, of course. But when you find something that excites you, you usually
show it to other people. I believe that an application is not so valuable when
you use it alone. It pays more if you spread the word, and other people use it.
This way you get to be the first one, something like a trophy.
Social platforms also allow adolescents to keep up with all the new
developments of their friends’ lives simultaneously, without having to talk to each
of them personally. Thus they become socially empowered in the sense of being
more involved in their friends´ lives:
[I: What do you like best about Facebook? ] All the news. You can find out
many interesting things. For example who is with whom, who broke up with
whom, where people are, who went to which party and how was the party , or
when a party is going to happen, because there are events on Facebook, new
photos.
Adolescents also share their happy and satisfied moments with their friends.
A problem can be shared with their friends who offer support. Adolescents have
confidential conversations online, in which they share very intimate things like
fears, sorrows or happenings. They help each other by finding appropriate words
and narrating from their own experiences. This may lead to an increased sense of
intimacy and empower adolescents:
Yes. It helps you when you are in a situation and you want to share this
situation with somebody. However, not just anybody, but someone you know,
with whom you have chatted face to face and you know that he is a
trustworthy person so you know you can share things with him and that he will
help you.
57
The process of meeting new people and adding online friends to one’s social
network can also lead to easily formed and more diversified cliques and crowds,
due to the broader pool of available friends and the absence of temporal and
geographic
constraints.
The
Internet
can
enable
adolescents
to
pursue
developmental tasks in a less threatening context than face-to-face settings. First,
a number of venues on the Internet (e.g. SNS, blogs) can function as ‘identity
workshops’ by exposing adolescents to diversified communities with varying
degrees of homogeneity. With message boards, chat rooms and other social
utilities, adolescents are able to expand their social networks, find people similar
to them who might be more difficult to meet in their lives (especially the
marginalized groups), make social comparisons and practice their social skills.
Furthermore the unique features of the Internet, namely anonymity and absence
of geographic and temporal constraints, equip adolescents with opportunities to
explore various roles and identities and also contribute to self-concept clarity.
Consequently, adolescents have a strong need for their peer-group’s
acknowledgement. The underlying process that mediates this need is upward social
comparison. Here adolescents are modelling their skills in relation to their
reference groups’ main interests which results in self-improvement:
Yeah well, there are people who are better than me, and that’s how I want to
be.
Empowerment also takes place during gaming. Friends can meet and stay in
touch via gaming platforms or simply by playing with others. The members of the
team co-operate to find the best strategies to defeat opponents or to reach the
next level in the game. While gaming they communicate through chats and forums:
I communicate with people around the world through a game. It resembles
Facebook, and you see who is active and you can invite them to play with you.
58
Resulting from the time gamers spend together over months and years,
reciprocal identification, a corporate feeling and a feeling of social belongingness
arises.
Another feature of online communication which may facilitate the social and
psychological empowerment of adolescents is the anonymity afforded which was
described as Hidden Behind the Screen. This enables Overcoming and Hiding
Personal Characteristics and Behaviour. The Internet ensures anonymity and acts
as a “protective” barrier. Adolescents are not controlled or observed in the same
way when they are online, which is contrasted to the offline environment. The
combination of these factors creates a broadened state of mind. In comparison to
real life situations, all personal characteristics and external restrictions like
doubts, shame, nervousness, insecurity, individual inhibitions as well as
prohibitions by law, parents, etc. are surmounted. Through the anonymity and
asynchronicity of the Internet, adolescents overcome personality or developmental
characteristics which inhibit them from behaving as they wish in real life
situations:
Yes, I feel more secure to ask people certain things sitting behind the desktop
(short break). I have such a fear to be laughed at in real life but when I sit at
my computer this fear disappears because I don’t see, see, (laughing) see it
whether someone is laughing at me.
Girl, 16 years, Germany (12)
Consequently, they are less inhibited, feel less embarrassed and become
more courageous, open and outgoing. So behind the screen they are able to show
an uninhibited self:
Because I am shy. On the Internet I lose my inhibitions, because one is
(hesitates) because one is daring to do more things. I don‘t know the exact
reason for it, but it is like this.
In particular, participants who were shy in an offline environment adopted
new friending approaches that they could use to cover their social fragility. Brunet
and Schmidt (2007) found that socially anxious females shared personal
information to a greater extent when they were concealed from their peers than
59
when they were not. Indeed, Desjarlais and Willoughby (2010) found that
frequency of computer use with friends was positively associated with friendship
quality. Communication with friends may then provide adolescent girls with
opportunities to engage in social exchanges that foster self-disclosure, which in
turn increases perceived friendship quality.
Adolescents may escape into this virtual world, either because online they
don’t come across their real world problems or they can handle them in a better
way. Additionally they have the possibility to focus on issues which are less
emotionally burdening and more psychological empowering. Not having to deal
with real life problems might only contribute to short-term empowering and
easing, leading to a probable vicious cycle of escalating offline problems that are
not dealt with.
For some adolescents it is a daily habit to boot up their computer. In a more
extreme point of view the Internet represents a place, where adolescents feel
comfortable and safe, where they know how things work and feel able to control
the situation.
Present findings are in line with stimulation theory, which proposes that
certain online activities contribute to positive outcomes in adolescence (McKenna
& Bargh, 2000). According to stimulation theory, the Internet connects individuals
with one another and therefore can enhance one’s social experience. With respect
to the content of communication, adolescents exchange current news of their
everyday happenings and reiterate the same developmental concerns as offline. In
particular, studies of online teen chat rooms that analysed 12,000 utterances from
1100 participants found that identity presentation (Subrahmanyam et al., 2006)
and partner selection (Šmahel & Subrahmanyam, 2007) were two central themes.
Also, adolescents sometimes rely on the Internet to initiate romantic contact,
maintain existing romantic relationships and discuss difficult topics with romantic
partners, including terminating relationships (Lenhart et al., 2001). Considering
empirical findings on the impact of online communication show that individuals
who initially communicated online are often being observed to like each other
more than individuals who initially communicate in a face-to-face setting (Bargh et
al., 2002). This finding suggests that the Internet is a likely venue for easily
60
gathering sources of social support by increasing the probability of meeting
likeable others. For instance, researchers have shown that the Internet provides a
venue where marginalized teens are able to seek social support (McKenna & Bargh,
1998). Also, studies examining the impact of online communication with friends
showed that the higher the amount of time spend interacting with friends online,
the greater the reported intimacy and disclosure (Gross, 2004; Lenhart et al.,
2001; Mesch, 2009; Valkenburg & Peter, 2007).
With respect to blogging and based on the self-disclosure theory (Derlaga &
Berg, 1987) and social capital theory (Bourdieu, 1984), it can be suggested that
blogging enhances social capital and also subjective well-being, as bloggers
perceive themselves as better integrated and receive greater social support (Ko &
Kuo, 2009). However, social reputation is also a strong motivator in games which
can lead to empowerment. Adolescents use games to compete and display their
skills. Griffiths (1997) and Wan and Chiou (2006) studied gamers with addictive
tendencies and reported that Internet satisfied the gamers need for achievement,
excitement and challenge as well as perceived sense of control over their lives.
However, they sometimes do not have a realistic view of who they are and lack the
self-confidence enabling them to be independent of others´ evaluation.
If alternative resources of empowerment are available, those can be used
for a functional coping with stress and may decrease the use of the Internet as a
coping strategy. Therefore online and offline empowerment and easing life is
crucial for how the Internet use progresses.
3.3.5 JUGGLING A CHANGING REALITY
This axial category captures participant’s response to a changing reality and
routine in which frequent and extended Internet use has evolved into an additional
but integral component of their everyday life. Within the frame of our main GT
paradigm, this category constitutes the strategies (see Table 5) employed by
adolescents as a response to the mode of being Always Online. It portrays
adolescents’ efforts to sustain online presence while handling their daily duties,
thus capturing the notion of time and task management. As mentioned in section
61
3.3.1 (Growing into a Content Creator), adolescents’ academic obligations,
everyday duties, social life, and extracurricular activities compose the picture of a
loaded and structured routine. Although the intensity of this structured routine
varied significantly across participants on the basis of individual and sociocultural
differences, for the majority of them it raised the need of time management and
adjustment of their everyday schedule. Such management and adaptation was
deemed necessary as their daily schedule was affected by the time and energy
invested online:
Because I am busy and next to that I spend a lot of time on the Internet (...)
Then it’s hard to manage everything.
Participants’
behavioural
response to this changing routine, which called for
readjustment
and
reduction
of
online
engagement,
was
conceptualized as Juggling a Changing Reality. Different types of voluntary or
involuntary reactions and different degrees of experienced pressure were
incorporated within this process. The degree of Self-regulation and relative
Readiness or Resistance to Change comprised the two properties pertaining to this
axial category and determining the extent to which adolescents developed
adaptive or maladaptive strategies as a response to rescheduling. In addition, the
strategies implemented in turn constituted the conceptual categories relating to
the outcome of the presented axial theme. More specifically, participants reacted
to this changing reality by developing a) an adaptive response entailing different
cognitive and behavioural strategies which facilitated management of time and
balancing of daily online presence vs. offline engagement or b) a maladaptive
response, again incorporating cognitive and behavioural strategies which in that
case served the purpose of maintaining increased online presence with ensuing
decreased offline engagement in main areas of their everyday life.
Adaptive Coping Strategies: ‘Setting or Accepting Constraints of Use’
An adaptive coping response was demonstrated in a significant number of our
participants’ narrations and was depicted in various categories which were
62
conceptually clustered as ‘Setting/Accepting Constraints of Use’. The first
consciously and purposefully employed strategy was that of Self-monitoring and
Limiting Use, which ranged from general to specific and mainly involved regulating
online time. Some participants, for instance, simply described their effort to be
self-disciplined and keep a time limit regarding Internet use while others shared
specific techniques they have developed. Besides instructing themselves “(you
had) enough now”, other behavioural tips included using their mobile phone
instead of PC to go online or forbidding oneself to waste time on non-focused
online surfing. This latter technique was used in order to set a limit on the amount
of time spent online and minimize the chances of losing track of time and be
caught-up online:
Yes, there are some restrictions that I imposed on myself, when I am not
staying on some sites that are not worth it. That's it.
That depends, sometimes the match lasts longer, because there’s a draw, and
we need to play overtime. Then obviously the game is 20 minutes or half an
hour longer, and I’m done a little later. But mostly when I say that I finish at
that time, I finish at that time. It just doesn’t really happen to me that I play
longer than I intended.
In addition to self-monitoring, Prioritizing was another well-evidenced
strategy a number of participants employed in their effort to handle their time and
everyday online and offline activities, interests and duties. Participants described
in different ways and different degrees the way they distributed the time and
sequence of their offline and online activities within a day’s schedule. Time
distribution was based on what they considered as a priority out of their daily
obligations, social arrangements, and scheduled activities. Going online was often
reported to be allowed by oneself only after having completed school assignments.
Time distribution was frequently readjusted depending on the load of activities
within a day or period of time (e.g. exams). Narrations most frequently indicated
time spent online being split in different time slots, such as after studying, going
63
out with friends or pursuing other extracurricular activities and in fewer cases
being totally skipped due to a particularly overloaded schedule:
But it depends on the time I have, because on Mondays and Wednesdays I play
basketball (short break) and when I get back, well it depends, if I have done
homework before basketball I get on the Internet, since I arrive from
basketball till I have dinner.
The last couple of weeks that we had exams at school I haven’t been using it
that much because I wanted to study.
In an effort to balance time investment between online and offline
presence, a number of participants also got into the process of Exploring New
Offline Alternatives. Specifically, some had managed to incorporate new offline
activities in their everyday routine or started investing more time in previous areas
of interest again that had been neglected due to their extended online presence.
For other adolescents this exploration still remained on a cognitive level
manifesting an underlying, internalized self-preparation for readjusting their
online behaviour by considering possible alternatives that could interest them and
facilitate them in reducing their online engagement:
Well to give up some time spent on Facebook or YouTube and give some more
time for my hobbies and to sports, maybe even to my family as well.
I started being involved in other activities (…) not letting myself be carried
away by it (Internet use), in general.
Analysis revealed that these conscious strategies presented above were
often employed simultaneously and were commonly underlined across participants
by a certain degree of manifested self-regulation and readiness for change,
ranging from moderate to high and determining the relevant Difficulty and
Unsuccessful Trials experienced by adolescents in their implementation. For those
adolescents who, even prior to the invasion of Internet, were self-disciplined in
main areas of their life and duties and who described themselves as generally more
64
organized, the attempt to juggle online presence came in a more natural and
smooth way. These participants were usually also less dependent on externally
imposed restrictions:
Parents don’t place any restrictions, but I put them for me myself and try to
abide by them.
No, I think that (...) I know how to control myself quite well; I know when I
need to stop. I don’t spend all day on the Internet or anything like that. No.
Girl, 16 years, Spain (3)
On the contrary, for adolescents who lacked the internal resource of selfregulation and self-discipline balancing online presence and offline engagement
was a more pressuring and effortful process involving more unsuccessful trials. This
difficulty was often related to particular online activities of preference − mainly
social networking and online gaming:
Yes I try to (short pause) but I´m not always successful (...) If I finish my
homework then I can go on Facebook or something like that (...) [I: And do you
follow that, can you?] (...) Um, sometimes, just sometimes.
Girl, 17 years, Iceland (12)
Moreover, adolescents’ degree of readiness and wish for change was often
mediated by two factors, often acting complementarily. The first one was
reflected in the conceptual category Negotiating Benefits and Losses which
captured the comparative and evaluating process of the perceived or incurred
advantages and disadvantages of increased online engagement. Experienced
benefits such as accessibility of information, ease of communication and
entertainment were often juxtaposed to offline alternatives, most often social
activities and primarily peer encounters and family affairs. Incurred losses were
manifested in different levels of offline Neglecting, mainly related to reduced
face-to-face interactions, bygone family relations and decreased academic
performance:
65
On one side, it’s something nice and good, since it helps you with loads of
things, but, on the other, you may miss loads of things because of it. There is
a balance between those two sides and you cannot tell which is best.
Uhm, it has had a negative influence on my school performance, because you
go on the Internet more and more and spend less and less time on your
homework and get even worse grades.
The second factor mediating adolescents’ readiness and wish for change laid
within the adolescents’ degree of Future Orientation, reflected in the relative
presence or absence of future goals, ranging from specific to general, which were
most often related with future studies and profession of preference. A substantial
number of narrations revealed that experienced losses in areas of offline
engagement which were perceived as important and/or presence of future goals
enhanced adolescents’ motivation for changing their online patterns and increased
the possibility of entering a self-regulating process:
Yes I would like to change my habits. I would like to shorten my time on the
Internet and on the computer and to use them only if necessary. And that's so
that I can have more time for my hobbies.
Well, no. I could spend some more time with my mother instead of being in
the Internet. When I was younger I was sometimes on the Internet instead of
learning. But in nowadays I know that it’s important for my future, therefore
I don’t spend as much time in the Internet as I did once.
A number of our participating adolescents developed the adaptive cognitive
strategy of Legitimizing imposed constraints of use, as their lack of internal
resources regarding self-discipline but relative readiness for change made them
more dependent on externally imposed restraints in this readjusting process. For
those participants this juggling of changing reality had been facilitated mainly by
parental time restrictions which were legitimized and accepted by adolescents as
they acknowledged that in the absence of these imposed restrictions they would
be easily “trapped” online:
66
I guess I need to. If it was up to me then I would not have these limitations
and then I would just go at full tilt. I just need to accept this and I understand
now mostly why I have to.
So they didn’t exactly prohibit it but they’ve set restrictions and if those
restrictions were not there I would have been destroyed (...) I would be
addicted, I would stuck for sure.
Other participants though, who also exhibited lower ability for selfregulation but at the same time lacked externally imposed restrictions, manifested
the greater degree of difficulty in their effort to balance their online presence.
Based on this experiential knowledge those adolescents often legitimized
potentially imposed restrictions and seemed to wish for increased surveillance and
supervision of their use and more specifically defined restrictions for usage. Such
attitude manifests a certain degree of readiness to accept and compromise with
increased parental advising and monitoring regarding their net use:
I try to but I can’t. I would like to, but I can’t. What I said before (...) “just 5
more minutes”, it turns into an hour. I just can’t.
Yeah, maybe for example if my mother pressured me a bit more. Then it
would go faster, maybe a bit faster especially because, if she walked in my
room every second to check if I was on the Internet, then it would change.
Maladaptive Coping Strategies: ‘Bypassing Constraints of Use’
As aforementioned, a substantial number of our participants responded to the
changing reality in a maladaptive way by the implementation of behavioural and
cognitive strategies which served the purpose of maintaining extended Internet use
on a daily and regular basis. This response was reflected in a conceptual cluster of
categories depicting a process of Bypassing Constraints of Use where strategies
and frequency of their implementation varied across participants but were
commonly driven by the urge to get connected and/or stay connected. Strategies
67
were also underlined by adolescents’ narratives on relative resistance for change
and the consequent absence of any effort for self-regulation and usage monitoring.
Our participants’ narrations most frequently revealed the development of specific
behaviours for Bypassing Parental Control, ranging from pretending to not be
online or finding ways to conceal their actual online time to discovering or
changing the password set by parents and managing to go online in their absence:
Yeah, but I turn the sound off and then they are asleep and don’t hear that I
am playing.
My parents had a password on the computer and I could not use it. Then (...)
well (...) when the holidays were close, every time that my mother left the
password set and, for example, went to bathe my sister, I then took
advantage of the situation, changed the password and then, I was able to use
the computer the following day.
A small number of our participants also reported Bypassing School
Restrictions by visiting Internet sites during lessons via their iPhones or again by
developing strategies to bypass technical barriers like password protected access:
I got the keyword for the limited Internet access in school so in that way I can
be online during class too, use YouTube and all that.
Cognitive strategies were also employed in the spectrum of adolescents’
maladaptive response with the first again being that of Legitimizing though in this
case, it served to justify and excuse online over-involvement either as reinforced
by parental models or as being mandatory for academic obligations. In some cases
reinforcement
through
parental
modelling
and
consequent
legitimization
concerned cases where parents themselves were investing significant portion of
their time online. In other cases it involved absence of any parental restrictions on
adolescent’s extended online engagement since the adolescent experienced it as
entertaining and fun. More often narrated though was participants’ legitimization
68
of their overuse as mandatory for school assignment and relevant information
searching:
That‘s why my father is encouraging me that far (...) My mother says,
(thinking) well my mother is using Facebook, too. She doesn’t really play
games, but she says: As long as I enjoy it, I shall keep on doing it.
Uhh, school. You have to get so much information you have to get
everywhere. School is just like that, you are pushed there because you have
the Internet.
Another cognitive strategy employed by a number of participants whose
narrations revealed relatively addictive patterns of online engagement was that of
Normalization and Downward Comparison of use. In this case when prompted to
compare their online time with that of their peers, participants often tended to
either normalize it, describing it as similar to that of peers and “normal” within
their specific age group or compared themselves with important others (parents,
siblings or friends) who were equally or even more excessive users. This latter
practice left them with the perception of themselves as average or even more selfdisciplined users:
Normal (...) isn’t it? I think it’s like the rest of my friends. Nowadays
everybody… nowadays everybody uses the Internet more or less and I, well
(...) I’m the same. It’s true that I spend time connected but it’s because I’m
doing things (...) I think I’m using my time well. People might have done other
things in the past, but nowadays this is the way of getting entertained.
They do not mind that I use the Internet, because they are users themselves.
No matter how odd this might sound, both my parents use Facebook, and they
know YouTube. They are users as well. Believe me, my mother is really stuck
with games − more than myself.
A less common maladaptive strategy was that of Procrastinating. Adolescents
exhibiting this type of response usually acknowledged their current overuse, held a
69
more moderate degree of resistance − as reflected by their future-oriented
openness for change − but most importantly did not demonstrate any effort to
change or monitor their online patterns in their present state. Their narrations
revealed a certain degree of postponing any readjustment of their extended online
engagement and also a justifying belief that their Internet use would change in the
future as a result of altered conditions and different obligations:
Change it. (thinks) Yes, in future, well, when I’m in police school, it’s more
strict there (...) Because you have to learn more, concentrate on different
things, work and yeah, you just go there to check your mails and write to
friends. Change, I would miss it, but you have to do this.
I think about the moment when I would be a grown up and I would have my
own family and home to support and then the Internet would come on the last
place, or at least this is how it should happen.
To conclude, responding to their changing reality participants reacted by
developing different behavioural and cognitive strategies which were adaptive or
maladaptive in nature and were implemented either in a natural or effortful
manner. The type of response and the extent to which each strategy was used
among participants was affected by participants’ degree of self-regulation and
their relative resistance or readiness for change. That in turn determined their
current online position described in detail in the next section of our analysis (see
Table 7).
Attempts to control use have been empirically documented in studies on
excessive Internet users. Douglas et al. (2008), summarizing findings of qualitative
studies on excessive users, found that a significant number of users indeed try to
control their habitual use of the Internet. For instance, self-determination and
self-regulation was reported by students as the most effective strategy to curb
Internet misuse although not all were equally skilful to demonstrate disciplined
behaviour. This result suggests that some heavy users have insight in the
problematic aspects of their use and also have a wish to change but are struggling.
This is in line with our data where a number of excessive users appreciated the
70
need for managing their online presence and got into the process of employing
behavioural strategies such as prioritizing, self-monitoring, limiting use and
considering or experimenting with offline alternatives. The demonstration of selfregulation and the implementation of adaptive coping strategies present many
challenges to some adolescents with excessive patterns of use. As our data
revealed, a number of adolescents who were on the contemplation stage of change
wished control to have been externally imposed as they lacked the personal skill of
self-discipline and self-regulation. As it has already been mentioned in section
3.3.1 (Growing into a Content Creator), empirical evidence (e.g. Lenhart &
Madden, 2007) suggests that the majority of parents do not set rules and are not
involved in close monitoring of adolescents’ Internet use. Moreover, Lin, Lin and
Wu (2009) investigated the effects of parental monitoring and leisure activities in
adolescents’ Internet addiction and found that supportive parental monitoring, as
well as outward activity decreases the tendencies of IAB. Our data replicated this
relationship between lack of parental restriction, limited participation in offline
activities and increased tendency for overuse. Parental monitoring seemed to have
a decisive impact on balancing online and offline presence, especially for
participants who lacked the internal resource of self-control. In contrast,
adolescents with greater ability of self-regulation were less dependent on imposed
restrictions by parents in their effort to balance their use. Thus, the
implementation and success of adaptive copying strategies might relate to
adolescents’ offline resources (e.g. offline support) and their personal skills
regarding self-discipline. Those with limited resources and deficient regulatory
skills might be more at risk.
3.3.6 DIGITAL OUTCOMES
The developmental progression of Internet use in adolescence was coined as
digital pathways, personal online journeys of exploration, learning and growth.
Digital pathways
were described as
evolving from
childhood through
adolescence and culminating in Digital Outcomes. This thematic category
represents the consequences in our GT paradigm and illustrates the current
71
lived experiences stemming from adolescents’ efforts to handle being Always
Online while Juggling a Changing Reality. As shown in Table 7, robust interrelations between the strategies employed and the subsequent lived consequences
validate our GT model’s structure and provide coherence to our theory, explaining
how Internet use evolves and is experienced by over-engaged adolescents in mid
adolescence. For most participants current Digital Outcomes were described as
following a significant period of online over-engagement − typically spanning from
pre- to mid adolescence − along with its consequent incurred costs and benefits. In
the course of “navigating” digital pathways, nearly all participants reported mixed
and often conflicting views regarding two pivotal processes governing Digital
Outcomes:
Online Craving
Offline Engagement
Online Craving captured adolescents’ descriptions of the temptation or urge
to use the Internet or specific applications therein. Participants often reported a
“need” to go online or stay online longer or a “temptation” to access some
particular platform. Craving ranged in intensity from low/subtle (signified by signs
of dampened enthusiasm or a weak desire for online engagement) to high/intense
craving (associated with self-descriptions of inability to resist the Internet and
being “Addicted” or “Dependent” to the Internet or to a particular application).
Offline Engagement referred to the degree to which adolescents were
involved in offline activities, primarily social engagements, academic tasks and
out-of-school activities. Narrations referred to the offline activities pursued or
bypassed, available or unavailable, exhibiting significant variability across
participants, ranging from being withdrawn to intense offline engagement.
Based on the mutual interplay of those two processes, different behavioural
and cognitive outcomes spurred as seen in Table 6 (page 70). While the preteen
years (early digital steps) were marked by many online behavioural similarities
across participants and across countries (as shown in common experiences of
Always Online), later digital steps showed variability in how the digital
environment was negotiated and experienced. Digital pathways split off in
different directions based on the extent to which the Internet eased
72
adolescents’ life or empowered them, as well as on the strategies employed to
manage their online presence. In mid-adolescence some adolescents described
their digital pathways as dynamic and changeable, often self-disclosing “eye
opening” experiences and behavioural changes. The associated Digital Outcomes
were characterized by change (Coming Full Cycle) or by adequate managing
(Juggling it All). On the contrary, other participants described more rigid digital
pathways, typically associated with maladaptive coping strategies: either Stuck
Online (narrations of “I am addicted”) or merely escaping boredom (Killing
Boredom).
As indicated by their defining characteristics/processes, Digital Outcomes
were not confined to the online world but were clearly interrelated to the offline
world, namely to current Offline Engagement and more broadly to adolescent
change and experimentation. The way adolescents experienced and negotiated the
dynamic mutual interplay between their dual contexts of development, their
online and the offline “pathways” attained the status of our core thematic
category: Navigating Adolescent Pathways.
Table 6. Digital Outcomes based on the interplay of emerged defining processes
Offline engagement►
Low
High
Online craving▼
Low
Killing Boredom
Coming Full Cycle
[Considering Change]
High
Stuck Online:
“I am addicted”
Juggling it All
3.3.6.1 Stuck Online: “I am addicted”
A certain degree of excess or lack of control was described by many adolescents,
expressing an over-involvement which appeared problematic compared to common
enthusiasm. Some participants even described themselves as “addicted” to the
Internet.
Sometimes it takes up a lot of time, and sometimes it becomes my whole life
(laughter). I don’t know, it’s addictive for sure. It’s got me a little hooked.
73
Descriptions related to conditions facilitating intense Internet use were
typical of being Stuck Online − which was one of our Digital Outcomes. This Digital
Outcome was characterized by high online craving and low offline engagement.
Significant psychosocial impact was often narrated and this was associated with
physical problems and a drop of school performance:
School achievements which aren’t linked to the Internet (laughs) (...) No,
actually not. So it did influence my grades and that's why I failed. Because of
this excessive use.
Prolonged time spent online and continuing “overuse” could have severe
consequences − not only on psychological and relational but also on the physical
level (Impact of overuse) − adolescents experienced problems with their eyes,
headaches, dizziness but also sleep disturbances as a consequence of heavily using
the Internet:
I use the computer a lot though I can feel that it’s harder to concentrate on
the studies if it gets too much. And I can’t sleep at night.
Further, physical problems from prolonged sitting (e.g. in school and at
home in front of the computer) coupled with a lack of physical activity could lead
to severe back pain. Sleep disturbances were also common among teenagers who
reported “addicted” to the Internet as they often used the Internet in the late
evening hours. This might result in sleepiness in school and overtime, in the
development of reversed circadian rhythms. Being caught up in the Internet, in
particular when engaged in gaming, also resulted in skipping meals − as meal times
were at times simply forgotten.
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No, I never fall asleep immediately. I always lay awake half an hour, one hour
until I fall asleep. And then I wake up in the middle of the night. (...)
(Interrupting) Yes, I think about [the Internet] the whole day and about the
person I wrote to and about what and whom I wrote about. I am thinking
about that. Not that much about unimportant things but a lot about
important stuff.
Participants
Stuck
Online
commonly
described
decreased
offline
engagement, stemming or associated with maladaptive strategies of neglecting
important offline activities: social and academic life minimized, duties and chores
bypassed and skipped activities that were previously experienced as rewarding and
of importance. Being online becomes one of the most motivationally relevant
activities while everything and everyone else becomes less important:
Well I used to go out more. Being outside, going swimming, or stuff like that.
I haven't been swimming for about 2 years. I haven't been out with my friend
in the evening for over 4 month now, such things you neglect.
In games like WOW12 and LOL13, some kids spent a lot of money and a lot of
time. Or they can enter some championship and they lose money. They reach a
point where they get addicted to such a degree that they neglect everything
else, and they spent their whole day with games.
When Internet use is prohibited or unavailable and adolescents cannot use
the Internet or their favourite applications, Online Craving emerges. This was
manifested by the feeling of “missing something”.
I felt like something was missing and I didn’t know what. I mean it’s like when
you know you have something to do, but you don’t remember exactly what it
is. (…) you get used to it [the Internet], and at least you have something to
do.
12
WOW − World Of Warcraft is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG)
13
LoL − League of Legends is a multiplayer online battle arena video game
75
This game, it’s just addictive (...) You want to do it all the time. You wake up
and think: “I need to go on this site”
The following two quotes indicate the high online craving and the low
degree of offline engagement of adolescents who described to be Stuck Online.
This appeared to result in no longer enjoying the experience to meet friends in an
offline environment:
I spend less time with my friends and I don’t go out as often as I used to. I
mean instead of getting out with my friends I prefer staying home online.
I'm always on my computer and I like it. I'm drawn to it. If I leave it, I come
back for a moment or leave it again, or come back. I'm really drawn to it and I
cannot stop − when someone calls me and tells me to go out, I don't go.
Attempts to quit or reduce the use of certain applications were typically
experienced as challenging by most participants:
A few months ago I deleted my profile on Facebook (...) but I realized I
couldn’t make it, so I reactivated it again.
She [mother] tried to make me cut down [Internet use] to 2 hours but I found
that just too little (...) Just crazy (...) I just said I needed at least 4-5 hours
per day. I was a bit annoyed. This can take a lot of time.
Some adolescents have lost their ability to relax and instead found relief in
online emotion regulatory activities. Staying offline became a challenge and for
some it was not possible to resist the urge to log on, thus the process became
compulsive. Automation processes, such as always using the Internet when feeling
sad or frustrated, kicked in and were difficult to break. When access was denied,
76
emotional and behavioural reactions ranged from aggression to depression and to
anxiety:
Aggression, addiction, a lot. You better like to be on Facebook than doing your
homework, you better like to be on Facebook than walk with your dog. You don’t
fulfill your duties anymore, you just do this (...) I don’t know, you’re just in the
Internet.
Yes. Yes, when I feel sad and all, sometimes, well, or (...) I have a couple of
things, I go on Tuenti and maybe, maybe someone knows about my problem and
helps me out. Well, it helps you. Or I go on (...) you might think this is silly, but I
go on, for example, on “asco de vida”, I see that other people are going through
worse things and I say “look, maybe what I am going through is not so important”.
Or I go on “cuánto cabrón” and I read things and I have a laugh, even though I
might have a very important problem, you know? I have a laugh during that
moment. Then yes, it helps me. It’s the same when I feel happy, when I feel happy
I go on it, and I laugh even more.
The experience of being “Stuck Online” revealed cognitive and emotional
difficulties which have already been reported in the literature on IAB (Kraut et al.,
1998; Selfhout, Branje, Delsing, Ter Bogt & Meus, 2009, Caplan & High, 2011).
Sleep disturbances arising from IAB have also been reported by Choi et al. (2009)
where Internet addicted adolescents had much higher odds to experience daytime
sleepiness than non-addicted adolescents. Even if negative consequences are
experienced and rightly attributed to the online behaviour, some adolescents are
still unable to consider changing their Internet use and need help from external
sources such as peers, parents, teachers or health care professionals.
3.3.6.2 Coming Full Cycle
The behavioural pattern of low Online Craving and high Offline Engagement was
characteristic of adolescents Coming Full Cycle. This Digital Outcome captured the
active adaptive process of progressively altering one’s online behaviour, a
process described as the lived experience by a sub-sample of our participants.
77
Within this adaptive behavioural pattern two distinct processes (or routes)
prevailed: Saturation, which was less conscious and effortful and Self-correction,
which was more conscious and effortful. Both routes occurred after a period of
intense online engagement, typically described in the past tense and referring to
pre- or early adolescence. The evolved behavioural change was described as a
more recent development and was narrated in the present tense. In the context of
adolescent development, this corrective process was conceptualized as adaptive,
marked by a shift from online over-indulgence to a modified (or under
modification) and more regulated engagement.
Saturation captures the lower end of the continuum of Online Craving and
was often narrated as a natural process of “getting enough”, “losing interest”,
getting “fed up”, “getting sick of it” or ”becoming tired of the Internet”.
Habituation was often described (e.g. “got used to it” or “turned common”) and
was elaborated as a changed perception of the Internet: from being a novel to
becoming a common endeavour. Saturation either referred to specific online
content or to Internet use in general and to excessive time investment. From a
behavioural theoretical perspective this can be considered as an extinction of
conditioned online responses which might have developed through repeated
unreinforced presentation of online stimuli. Interrelated to the Saturation process
were themes of personal growth and maturity in negotiating online opportunities.
Such themes often included reference to increased freedom and parental
permisssiveness combined with developed skills in self-regulation and setting
personal limits:
I think that I grew up. Before, I couldn’t get enough of the computer,
probably because it was still new. [Before] I couldn’t stay as much time as I
wanted, by now I can enter every day. Maybe I wanted to stay longer because I
had been set this barrier, because it was forbidden! That was also
unconscious. Now, it’s so common that I have got used to it myself and I
don’t need it so much anymore.
I'd rather be in real life than on the Internet because at some point you
become tired of the Internet. It's as if you ate the same thing every day, well
at the end you end it up. (...) you no longer enjoy eating the food even if you
like it.
78
Self-correction was the more effortful side of the corrective process and
this was typically spurred after personally encountering losses or after observing
others incur problems. In the first case, participants described past experiences of
distress and incurred negative consequences such as physical problems and aches,
academic downfall and conflicts with parents. Most salient of all were Social
Losses described as losing friends and being alienated from peers. Alienation was
interrelated with past experiences of diminished social engagement, while
academic downfall was associated with diminished school engagement. Taken
together, incurred losses were often explicitly linked to past low offline
engagement, triggering the need for change. This change was often mediated by
increasing maturity and the newfound ability to assess potential online
“drawbacks” and evaluate offline alternatives:
Yes, there was a time when I did not want to leave the Internet; I would sit
for hours online (pause). I did not want to do anything else, “Do not move
me”; I was caught up by the things I did, and it was a period in which I
eventually realized that it is better to get away from that, because it was not
in my favour; not that I had nothing to gain, but it was not something that
pleased me spiritually speaking. I even had to lose friends by this.
Other adolescents did not explicitly mention any negative consequences
(self-incurred or observed) but explained the self-correction as part of a
maturation process which brought forward self-reflection in the form of “what am
I doing now”?. After this reflective stage a less overt self-regulatory process
followed which was governed by saturation − as narrated by a Greek 16 year old
boy. This boy elaborated a step-wise explanatory “theory” for how his previous
over-engagement Came Full Cycle14:
I started visiting social networks like Facebook, saying “ah, here I meet new
people, that’s nice”, staying online for more and more time, (...) making
comments, uploading stuff, and creating a new life like a virtual reality. Um
(...) I think that happened after a while though. Then, you come full cycle,
you start saying “what am I doing now?”, you get tired of it, you shut it down,
14
This in-vivo code assumed the position of category label
79
you go out and you start cutting down the time you spend on it, you start
doing other things, you enjoy more and forget about it, get it out of your
mind and, just like that; it comes full cycle, I think, and you end up not
using it [the Internet] at all.
Similar experiences of saturation were described by other participants, although
less explicitly:
I used to spend a lot of time on Nasza Klasa15, on Facebook. Now I only go
there maybe once a week, to have a look at things, check things out, see
who’s online. If someone is on, we chat, and that’s it.
In the aforementioned corrective experiences a shift towards offline
engagement is indicated. Some participants described taking behavioural measures
in trying to cut down time spent online and increase offline engagement,
confirming that offline engagement is pivotal element of the corrective process.
Behavioural measures taken were along the lines of keeping busy with other offline
activities, primarily extracurricular activities, like sports and arts − often referred
to as “real world” activities:
But I’m trying to cut down. Yesterday for example I was much less at the
computer (...) I just dragged my ass to practice.
Therefore I started to rather keep myself busy with drawing and well,
creative stuff in the real world…
A few participants described getting involved in a romantic relationship or
“falling in love”, which they presented as a very alluring distraction from Internet
use, bringing about a shift to offline encounters. In addition to romantic interests,
friends and family often facilitated this corrective process by inviting or urging
adolescents to offline activities. The latter suggests that contextual support is an
important prerequisite of the corrective process.
15
Nasza Klasa – Social Network Service mainly used in Poland
80
Along the continuum of self-correcting, an associated cognitive process of
Considering Change was described which we consider as an intermediate step
towards Coming Full Cycle. This group of participants was either not convinced
that a change is presently needed or was presently unable or unwilling to
undertake this change. Most adolescents governed by this behavioural pattern
described that external support or restrictive practices would facilitate them in
achieving the needed change.
In sum, self-correcting was closely related to self-monitoring and
prioritizing which brought about change primarily described as a shift from
online to offline activities, leading to higher offline engagement at present. Selfobservation has been shown to be an effective way to control online activities and
bring them under the control of conscious thought processes (LaRose, Lin & Eastin,
2011). Self-regulation is tied to mental and physical health (Baumeister & Vohs,
2003) and considered a source of adolescent resilience and positive adaptation in
the face of risk (Luthar, 2006). Problematic Internet use has been previously
conceptualized as a form of deficient self-regulation (Caplan & High, 2011; LaRose,
2011; LaRose et al., 2003). Participants Coming Full Cycle appear to have attained
or re-gained adequate regulatory skills and have developed adaptive strategies
which in turn elicit adaptive online behaviours.
3.3.6.3 Juggling it All
Some participants described their current Internet use as integrated in their
overall daily routine and lives, without showing signs of struggling to meet their
daily responsibilities. Within this group, the phenomenon Always Online was
salient in the narrations while adolescents simultaneously exhibited hearty and
well-rounded offline presence which we conceptualized as Always Present Offline.
The latter was indicated by high activity levels, often across multiple offline
contexts: school, athletics, out-of-school activities and social endeavours.
Notwithstanding high activity levels, this group of participants relayed high
enthusiasm for the Internet use and at times reported Online Craving which
typically ranged from moderate to high. Importantly, this group did not describe
trying to cut back on Internet use and expressed satisfaction with their way of
81
using the Internet, although they did mention investing effort to keep up with their
busy lives.
These adolescents often appeared to multi-task and possess adequate selfregulatory skills as indicated by the use of prioritizing and self-monitoring
strategies. When academic duties peaked, they employed time management
strategies and reduced online use to accommodate for the time needed for
schoolwork. Some adolescents described that they literally hid their laptop or “put
it off their mind”, as often the case during periods of testing or taking exams.
Procrastination was described at times but most prevalent were descriptions of
decisiveness, behavioural goals, rules and ascribing priorities based on needs:
So based on what topic was being tested I acted accordingly (...) when I had
my English exam I felt no need to study so I would spend at least 2 or 3 hours
on the computer if I had no match [soccer] on that day. But if I had to study
for Ancient Greek or Mathematics then I would simply not login.
An additional behavioural pattern that surfaced among this group of users
was that most adolescents described high enthusiasm of specific online
applications and did not describe aimlessly browsing or “wasting time” surfing
online. Some were keen information seekers and often linked this to both
academic and future-oriented searching. A few others were sport fans who craved
for online updates on their team’s scores and often played the same sports offline.
Thus, it appeared that the same interests were played out in both online and
offline contexts and the experiences extracted from each one were often
comparatively presented. This is illustrated in the following case of a Greek boy −
an avid soccer player− who showed that while it was convenient to “play” soccer
online, his preference was for The Real Thing − playing soccer offline:
[Online] simply some figures are playing but they do not really exist, while
when you play soccer yourself, it is much better because you know it’s you,
it’s not someone else, it is you who is playing and who is real.
82
Maybe the most prevalent “profile” of all in this group consisted of
adolescents who were true extroverts or highly enjoyed socializing both online and
offline. Some of those adolescents presented online socializing as a better option
by showing preference for online interaction over face-to-face encounters, while
others ascribed similar valuation of both types of socializing:
I like to talk to people. It doesn't matter in which way, either I talk to them
on the iPod or I speak to them live or on the phone.
In sum, participants who were fully engaged in both the virtual and the
physical world appeared to be able to achieve an adaptive balance between their
online and offline activities. Thus, their experienced Digital Outcome was
conceived as Juggling it All. This Digital Outcome is strongly associated to adaptive
strategies of using the Internet without incurred negative consequences and at the
same time grasping online opportunities to the maximum. Adolescents in this group
often made clear that they did not intend or plan to diminish online engagement.
The socializing narratives are consistent with the rich-get-richer hypothesis (c.f.
Valkenburg & Peter, 2009) which posits that online sociability can be a
continuation of offline sociability for some individuals and therefore enhance it
instead of jeopardize it. It seems that for adolescents possessing adequate selfregulatory skills this process can be relevant.
3.3.6.4 Killing Boredom
The behavioural pattern of low Online Craving and low Offline Engagement was
characteristic of adolescents whose digital pathway evolved around Killing
Boredom. These adolescents neither narrated being enthusiastic fans of online
technologies nor were they avid followers of specific online applications (e.g.
active social networkers or high-achieving gamers). On the contrary, this group of
participants was characterized by a low activity level, enthusiasm and engagement
− both online and offline. Occasionally they reported to “miss the Internet” (e.g.
indicating online craving) butut that was typically described as a need to fill their
83
dull or boring routine. The endlessness of certain Internet applications makes them
a pleasant filler of time. For some adolescents Internet use has become an
automatic reaction spurred from dullness and lack of other activities. For this
group, Internet use was transient in nature and unstructured, just as their offline
routine was described as unstructured and at times under-challenging.
Boredom was experienced and described by many adolescents to be a
constant reality in their everyday life. Some participants described feelings of
boredom and explicitly or implicitly justified their online presence by the lack of
exciting alternatives in their offline environment.
Yes, it happens to me to get bored because I stay in the house all day long,
doing nothing, especially now because it’s cold outside. You have nothing else
to do, because you can’t go out because you would just freeze.
Spare time is often used for the Internet, for instance right after school or
during evening hours when participants feel that there is nothing else to do. Some
participants described a very manageable workload in their everyday life leading
to more spare time which was consequently used for the Internet. Especially spare
time that is unstructured (e.g. not filled with activities as for example playing
football in a team or doing homework in a predefined time frame) was often
utilized for online time without a certain goal, just to keep busy:
Many times (...) quite a lot, because sometimes if I get bored or don’t start
drawing, well the closest option that I have is the computer, which… I have to
admit that when I get bored and I simply go on it because of boredom, I tend
to get even more bored. But (...) yes, normally or many times it is because of
boredom, and I am doing practically nothing.
Low offline engagement was common among participants who currently
experienced the digital environment as a place for “Killing Boredom”. Further, the
Need for Distraction from the offline world was often mentioned by participants:
It’s easy, playing games for example. When I came home from school, I had to
do it, to get some distraction, because school was crap, and therefore I had to
84
play. I mean, I visited others as well, but they played games, too. We didn’t
play then, but we watched a game or bought one, yeah.
Killing Boredom was the only identified online position that was not found to
be directly related with the implementation of specific maladaptive strategies
(and therefore is not depicted in Table 7). Instead, for participants of this group
Internet over-engagement served an underlying need for distraction and relief
from their experienced boredom which stemmed from their lack of offline
engagement and activities of interest.
The lack of offline engagement is pivotal here. Indeed, a study by Page and
Mapstone (2010) analysed the content of posts in adolescents’ blogs and showed
that the most commonly reported theme in adolescents’ posts involved feelings of
boredom. More specifically, 56% of the sample mentioned ‘‘being bored’’ at least
once within their posts. Similarly, 29.2% mentioned being bored by or in school.
These findings show that some adolescents might use Internet to combat boredom
in their free time.
85
Table 7. Juggling a Changing Reality, Digital Outcomes properties, dimensions and interrelations at the dimensional level
Attitude to change
Adaptive Strategies
Degree of selfregulation
Outcome strategies employed
Maladaptive Strategies
Properties of
Juggling a Changing
Reality
Dimension of properties
associated with each strategy
Self-monitoring and
limiting of use
 moderate … high self-regulation
 readiness for change
Prioritizing
Exploring/considering new
offline alternatives
Legitimizing imposed
restrictions
 low self-regulation
Procrastinating
 moderate resistance for change
Bypassing imposed
restraints of use
Interrelated Dimensions of
Digital Outcomes
Properties (Craving and
Offline Engagement)
High Craving/ High Offline
Engagement
associated
consequence
Digital Outcomes
Juggling it All
Low Craving/ High Offline
Engagement
Coming Full Cycle
 resistance for change
High Craving/
Low Offline Engagement
Stuck Online:
“I am addicted”
Legitimizing use
Low Offline Engagement/
Low Craving
Normalizing and
downward comparison
Killing Boredom
86
4. SUMMATIVE DISCUSSION
The aim of our study was to examine the development of Internet use
among adolescents at risk for Internet Addictive Behaviours (IAB) and to
identify
underlying
conditions
affecting
the
development
of
such
maladaptive behaviours. As such we purposely sampled and interviewed
adolescents reporting signs of IAB (ranging from mild to severe). Even so,
the analysis revealed that a substantial number of our participants did not
describe experiences indicative or consistent with “addictive behaviour”−
although those were clearly articulated by a subset of our participants who
were coined as being Stuck Online. Thus, the emerged theory and “Model of
Four” provides rich and unique information about adolescents’ development
in relation to their internet use. It also represents a wider range of Digital
Outcomes, all evolving from the unanimously narrated mode of being Always
Online and Checking Out.
The experience of the first online contact reflects the main cultural
difference revealed by this study. In particular it was difficult for
adolescents from the northern parts of Europe to recall their first online
experiences, while participants from southern countries could easily
elaborate on their first moments spent online. Despite differences in
remembering the first online encounter, internet proficiency among
participants was similar across all participating countries. Thus the
adolescents have cohort-typical behaviours and knowledge which is not
confined by country boundaries. The preteen years (early digital steps) were
described very similar throughout the different participating countries. For
instance the common experiences such as Always Online are experienced on
a comprehensive level. The evolution of later digital steps was stronger
focused on national platforms, such as Tuenti in Spain, however even these
national platforms share common SNS characteristics.
This mode of adolescent online “being” captures the vivid and
continuous online engagement of digitally immersed adolescents born in the
mid-1990s. Young people growing up in the digital era are not only given
87
unique opportunities online, such as to satisfy their intrinsic human curiosity
and psychological need to explore, but adolescents in particular can pursue
pivotal developmental needs on the Internet. The adolescent mode of being
Always Online can signify online social presence, as it was spurring from a
commonly narrated normative Adolescent Thirst to keep connected to peer
groups and updated of worldly happenings. This thirst was behaviourally
manifested by Checking Out, a type of information-seeking behaviour with a
strong social orientation for seeking and sharing. Information seeking has
been previously suggested to be social with a goal of “knowing together”
and sharing information (Dresang, Gross & Thompson, 2002). Dresang (2005)
claimed that sharing knowledge is the preferred learning style of
adolescents, while Ridings and Gefen (2004) found that sharing news and
personal information were the main motives for participating in online
communities, followed by social support as well as friendship. In
adolescence sharing can denote a sense of belonging which not only satisfies
a pivotal developmental need and contributes to the validation of
adolescents’ developing identity (Brechwald & Prinstein, 2011) but is also
a significant prognostic factor for social and cognitive growth (Hartup,
1989, 1996; Piaget, 1932) and later personal adjustment (Parker & Asher,
1987; Parker, Rubin, Price & DeRossier, 1995). Thus, although Always Online
and Checking out are expressed in the digital environment, they are strongly
interrelated to offline needs and developmental processes. While online,
adolescents bring and bridge people and issues from their offline into their
online worlds. As suggested by one of our participants, we should be
hesitant to label online excessive use an “addiction”:
For me it [Internet use] is normal, and if I am on my computer for a
bit longer then that’s also normal for me. Yeah, it is so in your
rhythm (...) I do not think you should see it as an addiction because
it’s something extremely useful.
Although Always Online was the common experience of participants
in their pre- or early adolescent years, their digital progression and
88
consequent personal Digital Outcomes exhibited significant variability in
mid adolescence. In line with the notion of developmental pathways
(developmental science; Davies & Cicchetti, 2004; Rutter & Sroufe, 2000)
being dynamic and malleable across time, we similarly conceptualize the
developmental progression of Internet use from childhood to adolescence as
emerging digital pathways. The evolution of digital pathways was framed
within a backdrop of online and offline developmental, environmental, and
relational changes. Change and evolution on digital pathways were salient
components in most narrations and were mediated by parents and peers.
Most participants described the loosening of parental control and
monitoring both offline and online which reflects a normative increase in
liberties typically given to adolescents. Our findings are consistent with
results from the European SAFT project suggesting that parental regulation,
although present during the initiation period, was shown to diminish once
adolescents had used the Internet for some time (Bjornstad & Ellingsen,
2004). Similarly, in the EU NET ADB quantitative study eight in ten
adolescents reported that their parents often or very often do not know
which sites they visit (Tsitsika et al., 2013). Importantly, even in cases of
on-going close parental supervision, parental restrictions were described as
typically being bypassed. Thus, the progression of digital pathways is
facilitated by diminished parental supervision, either loosened by the
parents or bypassed by adolescents. Despite growing Internet penetration
among the adult population (Aquino & McCarthy, 2011) adolescents claimed
to be more knowledgeable than their parents. Moreover, parental
ambivalence was thoroughly elaborated as conflicting and often interpreted
as “permissive”. The latter might arise from diverse parental views on
Internet use and its effects as previously suggested (Livingstone & Bober,
2004). The practical difficulties parents face in penetrating private
platforms designed for private communication might also have contributed
to their ambivalence (Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 2008).
As peer relationships and friendships assume a central role in
adolescents’ lives (Rubin et al., 2006), peer influences become more
89
important than parental influences (cf. Childers & Rao, 1992) and the
Internet provides a new social context for peer interactions. The peer
group was narrated as a driving force behind online communication choices
(choice of SNS platforms, daily patterns of use) which is consistent with a
peak in conformity to the peer group documented in middle adolescence.
Conformity to peers is normative in this developmental period (Erikson,
1963) and less negative than suggested by stereotypes (Berndt, 1992).
Studies empirically testing the effect of social influences on Internet
behaviours within the framework of the Model of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen,
1991) showed that group norms predict the frequency of SNS use by
adolescents (e.g. Baker & White, 2010).
Our participants described novice peer friending practices taking
place on SNS platforms − such as making new friends online and also
starting romantic relationships online. Earlier studies suggest that compared
to adults, adolescents are more likely to use the Internet to meet new
people (Lenhart et al., 2005; Subrahmanyam, Greenfield, Kraut & Gross,
2001), a practice consistent with their developmental need for social
experimentation and expansion of peer groups (Brown, Mounts, Lamborn
& Steinberg, 1993). Noteworthy, every single one of our participants had an
SNS account and most of them described SNS as a facilitative context for
checking out updates of friends and events and for developing stronger ties
with schoolmates or acquaintances.
Indeed, a study on SNS use by Dutch adolescents showed that the
more regular the use was, the more positive feedback was received,
enhancing their self-esteem (Valkenburg, Peter & Schouten, 2006).
Longitudinal studies measuring communication impact on relationship
satisfaction suggest that friendship quality increases with frequency of
instant messaging use (Valkenburg & Peter, 2009) and chatting (Desjarlais &
Willoughby, 2010). It is possible that frequent use of communication
platforms with friends promotes the sense of psychological closeness
especially if it involves self-disclosure (Valkenburg & Peter, 2007). Thus, it
appears that online interpersonal interactions are experienced and
90
practiced in a similar manner as offline interactions. Moreover, most
participants described their online sociability as thereafter transferring
offline, suggesting that the two contexts are closely interconnected and
that online communication is facilitative for most adolescents in their
overall social functioning.
Central to adolescent development, peer relationships are pivotal in
the process of identity formation (Brown, 1990; Pugh & Hart, 1999). As
suggested by some participants, the anonymity and asynchronicity of online
communication offers opportunities to control self-presentation and
practice self-disclosure a finding that comes in agreement with previous
studies (Mesch, 2009; Valkenburg & Peter, 2011). Both processes are
stepping
stones
(Subrahmanyam
for
the
construction
& Greenfield,
2008).
of
These
a
coherent
findings
also
identity
resonate
particularly shy adolescents’ descriptions of the new strategies offered by
Internet to talk about embarrassing issues and make subtle approaches
towards romantic partners.
The supportive function of peer relationships is particularly decisive
during this period, characterized by increased changes and demands. Peer
support has been found to facilitate transitions and to help adolescents cope
with developmental tasks (Berndt & Savin-Williams, 1993; Hartup, 1993;
Parker & Asher, 1987). Studies on online social environments (Šmahel &
Subrahmanyam, 2007; Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 2008; Subrahmanyam,
Šmahel & Greenfield, 2006) show that adolescents use them to deal with
some of their developmental concerns, namely formulating identity and
establishing relations with peers and romantic partners (Brown, 2004). In
sum, digital pathways are heavily shaped by the peer group and its social
norms and online experiences are strongly interconnected with
normative developmental processes. Online communities can provide
alternative or supplementary support networks for adolescents and hanging
out online like its offline counterpart can serve multiple developmental
tasks. Importantly, the onset of digital pathways from the mode of Always
Online is not only normative and socially mediated for today’s adolescents,
91
but is strongly associated with the adolescents’ needs and pivotal
developmental tasks − thus can be seen as adaptive in nature.
However, in order to conclude whether the adaptive potential and
gains of Internet use are preserved, one needs to focus on the degree to
which adolescents are facilitated and empowered from processes and
practices experienced online. In our emergent theory these experiences
constituted the intervening conditions shaping the ascribed value placed on
the Internet and its ensuing level of engagement. The facilitating conditions
were identified as ranging from Easing Adolescence to Social and
Psychological Empowerment. This breadth indicates if the Internet simply
renders life easier for adolescents or has a more profound impact:
empowering adolescents in functioning. The obtained range of positive
effects of Internet use is consistent with the stimulation theory (McKenna &
Bargh, 2000) according to which time spent online can lead to social
connectedness and high quality friendships. Distinctly, the rich-get-richer
hypothesis, postulates that online time solidifies the skills of socially
competent individuals and further contributes to higher self-efficacy and
well-being (Gross, Juvonen & Gable, 2002; Kraut et al., 1998; Peter et al.,
2005). It is the range of facilitation (from easing to empowerment) as well
as the nature and the breadth of activities pursued that determine the
progression of adolescent digital pathways.
Importantly, adolescents’ digital pathways and subsequent Digital
Outcomes were affected by the implementation of adaptive or
maladaptive coping strategies to handle their continuous online presence
while “juggling” against the offline world. Our analyses revealed that their
implementation related to available resources (e.g. parental supervision,
existing peer support) and adolescents’ self-regulatory skills. Previous
studies (e.g. Lin et al., 2009) have supported this relationship between
increased parental monitoring and decreased tendency for IAB among
adolescents. However, the findings of the present study suggest that
supportive parental monitoring can be influential mainly for adolescents
who may lack the internal resource of self-disciple but most importantly
92
possess a certain degree of readiness and wish to change their online
behaviour. On the contrary, for adolescents whose attitude to change
reflected a relative resistance and indifference towards coping with their
increased online engagement, parental monitoring was found to be of minor
or no influence.
Digital Outcomes captured the current lived consequences of being
Always Online. The variability exhibited in Digital Outcomes (four main
positions and an intermediate one) is an example of multi-finality: common
“beginnings” in digital pathways − exhibited in rather common contextual
conditions and similar behavioural exhibitions of the phenomenon − were
shown to culminate in rather diverse Digital Outcomes. The variability
exhibited in Digital Outcomes is defined by two underlying processes:
online craving and offline engagement, confirming that digital pathways
and outcomes are defined by the interplay of online and offline processes.
This robust interplay is a crucial component of our emerging theory. Online
behaviours are closely associated with the negotiation of offline “tasks”,
namely peer inclusion, information seeking, and identity exploration. This
mutual interplay is captured in our theory’s core thematic process:
Navigating Adolescent Pathways, suggesting that Internet use and overengagement is strongly interrelated to offline adolescent functioning.
Specifically, low offline engagement can be either reinforced or triggered
by Internet use. A number of participants reported incidences of offline
neglect or disengagement which was either temporal and resolved (e.g. by
processes of saturation or self-correction) or currently experienced and
worrisome. Nevertheless, offline engagement played a critical role in the
Digital Outcomes reached by our participants.
We describe Internet use in adolescence in terms of two central
characteristics, Offline Engagement and Online Craving, captured on a
continuum from high to low. (see Table 6; page 73). The emerging fourfield-table represents the four types of Internet use. Children and
adolescents are “always on(line)” and have developed a permanently low
93
threshold to access the Internet and its possibilities which can be a highly
rewarding source of self-affirmation.
“Self-regulation”
and
“readiness
for
change”
mediate
the
development of adaptive and maladaptive behavioural strategies. Those
strategies are indicators for identifying the mentioned Digital Outcomes and
reinforce themselves.
Adaptive strategies are 1) self-monitoring and limitation of use, 2)
prioritizing and 3) exploring/considering new offline alternatives (see Table
7; page 86). These strategies are used by functional users who have
developed abilities in self-regulation and for whom intervention may not be
necessary. Daily clinical routine has shown that a loss of the usual offline
self-affirmation sources (e.g. in consequence of a sports injury) may result
in the development of an Internet Addictive Behaviour for the „Juggling it
All“ type. Those “coming full cycle” are likely to lose a considerable amount
of time in their intense using-cycles. It is therefore important for these
adolescents to reflect on their online behaviours.
Maladaptive
strategies
are
1)
bypassing
parental
control
2)
normalization and downward comparison as well as 3) legitimizing excessive
use (see Table 7; page 86). Adolescents using these strategies often feature
comorbidities (such as anxiety, depression, attention disorders etc.).
Especially in childhood and adolescence other psychiatric disorders and
psychosocial problems often co-occur in unstable family situations. Persons
with maladaptive strategies will not be able to self-regulate their
Internet use and therefore depend on professional help for the development
of more adaptive online behaviours.
In sum, Digital Outcomes are governed by internal resources and
strategies employed and linked to environmental opportunities for
offline engagement. In our study self-regulation was shown to be closely
tied to Internet use behaviours while it has previously been linked to mental
and physical health (Baumeister & Vohs, 2003) and is considered a source of
adolescent resilience and positive adaptation in the face of risk (Luthar,
2006). With regard to external factors influencing Digital Outcomes,
94
parental mediation does not seem to directly influence Digital Outcomes.
Notably, parental mediation was shown to indirectly influence via offline
engagement opportunities provided and guidance towards undertaking
such activities. Such offline engagement opportunities appear to function as
a protective factor towards maintaining or regaining adaptive Internet
behaviour. On the contrary, it has been previously suggested that excessive
use was a way to escape from scholastic pressure, cope with negative
emotions like loneliness and boredom, release stress and discharge anger
and frustration. Thus, the entertaining and communication opportunities
might be particularly salient to those who use it to cope with offline
difficulties (Griffiths, 1997; Wan & Chiou, 2006). Browsing the web aimlessly
can be distracting from offline tasks but also adaptive to a certain degree.
However, excessive aimless browsing can be associated with negative
outcomes (see Gordon, Juang & Syed, 2007).
The present study showed that the relationship between online
activities and experiences and Digital Outcomes is not direct. On the
contrary, it is moderated by individual variables (self-regulation, personality
traits) and contextual variables (offline friendships, family relations,
parental monitoring and other resources) (see Selfhout et al., 2009). Some
adolescents with low self-regulation and/or low offline social presence
ascribe increased value and priority to their online presence and for them
the Internet takes over a significant part of their functioning. For this group
− the Stuck Online group − the criteria of salience, lack of control and
neglect life (based on IAT) are validated in the relevant narrations. Other
adolescents who are already competent and self-regulated get “richer” by
using the Internet. For this group the rich-get-richer hypothesis is confirmed
as these adolescents have an intense yet balanced online and offline
presence (Juggling it All). Importantly, these participants’ increased scores
in the IAT may be explained as age-typical (i.e. IAT item 1: staying online
longer than intended; IAT item 2: neglecting house chores). In addition they
can be described as cohort-typical behaviours (i.e. IAT item 7: checking
emails before doing others tasks; IAT item 14: being online late at night
95
and losing sleep), which cannot be easily considered maladaptive. Still
others who have adequately developed self-regulatory skills manage to
regulate or maintain the Internet’s facilitative and empowering potential, at
times after a considerable time of increased engagement (Coming Full
Cycle). Finally, for a few adolescents the Internet is just an outlet of low
“life” engagement and they merely use it as a way to fill their time or
emotional “gaps” (Killing Boredom).
96
5. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
Notwithstanding the general strengths of the qualitative approach and our
study’s particular strengths stemming from a significant cross-cultural
sample and the carefully chosen and monitored implementation of the GT
method (detailed in section 2.5 Rigour), a number of research limitations
should be taken into consideration:
Recollection bias — adolescents were asked to recollect both present
and past online experiences, the latter often covering middle
childhood (e.g., spanning up to 10 years back). Therefore,
recollection biases or inaccuracies might be present in our data.
Sampling limitations — as it is typical of school-based surveys,
adolescents who do not attend school were not represented.
Furthermore,
participation
was
voluntary.
In
the
case
that
participating adolescents differed significantly in their characteristics
from their counterparts who may be experiencing similar symptoms
but did not opt to participate, the views of the latter group might
have not been represented in this report.
Inclusion criteria — we relied solely on self-report data for including
participants in the study, thus limiting the measurement of Internet
behaviour to individual perceptions. Further, although it is difficult to
assess the validity of adolescents’ responses on IAT in the absence of
other sources (e.g. parents, teachers), our study was primarily
concerned with adolescents’ experiences that are largely subjective
and personal.
IAT instrument limitations — the use of the Internet Addiction Test
(IAT) is based on a specific conceptualisation of Internet addiction as
an impulse-control disorder, which may have resulted in the
systematic exclusion of adolescents with problematic behaviour not
fitting into this theoretical framework’s criteria. Furthermore, this
97
instrument has not yet been clinically validated in the participating
countries and neither are there county-specific norms for other
similar instruments (the Generalized Problematic Internet Use ScaleGPIUS; Caplan, 2002). Nonetheless, it is important to note that the
scale’s items cover a wide range of symptoms and that the symptoms
of neglect and lack of control, which are pivotal component of the
conceptualization and distinct sub-scales of the IAT, also emerged in
our analyses as integral to the experiences of adolescents who used
the Internet in a maladaptive way.
Researchers’ bias — the conduction of the interviews and data analyses
may have been influenced by the researchers’ personal biases and
their theoretical orientation or discipline. Yet, every effort has been
taken to increase the trustworthiness of the present findings by
constantly
performing
trustworthiness
checks
and
involving
researchers from diverse disciplines (see section 2.4 Analytic
approach − coding procedure).
Survey and interview context — every effort was made to ensure
anonymity and confidentiality. We made sure that adolescents filled
out the questionnaires in privacy and they were assured that the
interviews would be anonymised. However, as with any survey
conducted in school, the danger of receiving ‘socially desirable’
answers may exist and we cannot rule out that despite our best
efforts some did not feel secure enough to be completely honest.
Generalization — seven European countries participated in the EU NET
ADB study and as such findings from this study may not be
generalizable to Europe as a whole or to other parts of the world. As
is the case with qualitative approaches, it may not be feasible to
extrapolate findings to broader populations but rather to suggest a
tentative model.
98
6. RECOMMENDATIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Despite aforementioned limitations, the findings in this study suggest that
adolescent Internet use and over-engagement, captured in the emerged
Always Online phenomenon, can for many adolescents be a positive and
developmentally appropriate activity. Adolescents included in this study
reported some symptoms of IAB, based on impulse-control conceptualization
but a significant portion of them managed to maintain a balance in their
lives and sustain substantial facilitation and benefits from Internet use.
6.1 FRAMING AND DIRECTIONS OF RECOMMENDATIONS
Our recommendations are framed within the integrative policy-making
efforts undertaken within the European Commission’s Safer Internet
Programme (SIP)16 which aims to empower and protect children and young
people online by raising awareness and fighting illegal and harmful online
content and conduct. SIP initiatives include INSAFE Awareness Centers,
INHOPE Hotlines, initiatives on industry regulation, and significant research
programs such as the EU Kids Online17 and the ROBERT18 projects.
The EU NET ADB study is a Safer Internet Knowledge Enhancements
project; therefore our recommendations are focused on specific directions
for action:
Awareness campaigns aimed at adolescents and their parents
Social media in education
The
role
and
training
of
counsellors
and
mental
health
professionals
Policy makers
Industry (self-)regulation
16
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/sip/index_en.htm
17
http://www2.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/EUKidsOnline/Home.aspx
18
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/apps/projects/factsheet/index.cfm?project_ref=SI-2009-KEP-410905
99
6.2 AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS AIMED AT ADOLESCENTS AND THEIR PARENTS
Raising awareness is an important aim of this project and of SIP policy,
primarily implemented through SI Awareness Centers. In regards to
awareness initiatives targeting youth at risk for IAB our findings can
contribute towards:
(1) Specifying the groups at risk based on self-perceived benefits and
losses experienced online, thus going beyond clinical criteria.
(2) Determining the content of campaigns based on the “players” (peers
and parents) who mediate Internet use in adolescence. Additionally the
campaigns’ content should be based on the underlying processes which were
shown to mediate digital pathways and adolescent Digital Outcomes.
Based on the emerged model, namely the adolescent “mode” of online
being (Always Online) and the developmental needs negotiated therein, we
suggest that awareness campaigns should incorporate the following
guidelines:
Increase awareness on the strong interrelation between online and
offline adolescent functioning, pointing to the mutual interactivity
of the two contexts of development in generating adaptive and
maladaptive adolescent online behaviours and outcomes. This would
introduce a more holistic approach in promoting adaptive Internet
use with a focus on the entirety of adolescent functioning, while
incorporating offline engagement.
Increase awareness on the emerged notion that on the Internet
adolescents “navigate developmental pathways”: the Internet
offers opportunities to express and negotiate pivotal age-specific
“tasks” − identity, knowledge, and connection to peers.
“What type of users am I?” Increase awareness of the motives and
ways of using the Internet by presenting the four types of Digital
Outcomes and asking adolescents to identity their own type.
100
Treat Internet over-engagement as potentially adaptive and avoid
focusing recommendations on restrictive practices, such as
restricting time or content of Internet use.
Start with the positive and adaptive potential, namely facilitation
of adolescent life in academic and social functioning and in
satisfying normative affective (sense of belonging) and cognitive
needs (need for information and exploration).
Proceed to explain what could constitute maladaptive Internet
use, focusing on how Internet use may turn into a problem in
adolescence. Present the possible losses experienced by some
adolescents (those “Stuck Online”).
Present adaptive strategies employed by “real” adolescents
(demographics included) showing how some adolescents “juggle”
online use while also managing offline responsibilities. This may be
done by acknowledging developmental challenges as increasingly
perplexing (“juggling life”) while focusing on behavioural strategies
that can be employed, such as self-monitoring and prioritizing.
Counter-present maladaptive strategies and processes, stressing
neglecting the offline world as one, again using real-life stories.
Focus on how Internet use may turn into a problem in adolescence.
Present the possible vulnerabilities and losses stemming from such
processes (“Stuck Online” type) .
Shift the responsibility of “good practice” to the adolescents
themselves, conveying the message that as they mature and attain
more independence (online and offline), they need to take on more
responsibility and awareness of their online behaviours.
To go a step further than awareness and foster adoption and practice
of aforementioned aims, techniques can be introduced in the context
of prevention initiatives. These could focus on ways to practice
balanced Internet use and maximize benefits from it:
Encourage self-observation and self-monitoring and suggest how to
accomplish this by providing behavioural techniques and online tools.
101
Online calendars and reminders can be used for self-monitoring.
Based on research findings, online surveys or apps can be developed
with less focus on clinical symptoms and more on underlying
processes and lived experiences. The aim would be to raise awareness
for the “warning signs” of maladaptive online behaviours and
additionally positive feedback for adaptive behaviours.
Foster self-control and provide the logic and motives of doing so,
including increased independence and self-reliance and a shift from
parental control.
Recommendations for parents should be based on the changing
parental role during the adolescent years and to common parental
practices of inconsistent advising revealed in our study. These
recommendations could be focused around:
Exercising consistency as important element of parental
advising. It should be stressed that ambiguity and inconsistency
can
relay
permissiveness
and
foster
maladaptive
online
behaviours.
Minimizing or avoiding use of parental control software
especially in mid-adolescence. This would facilitate the shifting
of the responsibility to adolescents themselves as they are
cognitively capable of doing so. Passing on the responsibility can
contribute
to
increased
self-reliance
and
can
foster
independence.
“Modelling” adaptive online behaviours is one of the most highly
potent and influential modes of teaching children. Parental online
behaviour should be consistent with the behaviours parents
“preach”.
Providing support and help to adolescents pursuing offline
activities which can function as protective factors against
maladaptive online behaviour.
102
6.3 SOCIAL MEDIA IN EDUCATION: OPPORTUNITIES AND REGULATIONS
Governments
should
ensure
that
school
curricula
reflect
today’s
adolescents’ online use patterns and practices. Local findings on online
initiation age, as evidenced in this report and in EU NET ADB quantitative
study (Tsitsika et al., 2013) can guide the age of e-safety introduction in
National school curricula and the introduction of online tools, such as
social media, as educational tools. Considering that many adolescents are
increasingly engaged in SNS, these platforms can constitute means by which
educators can approach adolescents, and social media can serve as
powerful educational tools. A number of studies suggest that Internet can
provide educational opportunities and support its use as an instruction and
learning tool (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005). By encouraging the development
of learning environments, such as following Vygotsky’s learning principles
(1978), education can employ the natural propensity of today’s students
toward discovery and collaboration. Indeed, a number of educational
projects have successfully implemented such features (Cole, 1996; Dresang,
Gross & Holt, 2004).
Countries who have not yet implemented nationally regulatory
mechanism for Internet access in schools should consider their introduction
a priority. “White lists” are one way to limit content accessed in schools,
especially in primary education. For instance, in Greece where primary
school libraries do not block social media platforms, access restrictions and
white lists should be implemented by the Pedagogical Institute.
6.4 THE ROLE AND TRAINING OF COUNSELLORS AND MENTAL HEALTH
PROFESSIONALS
Counsellors working with adolescents need to be aware of youth’s current
online preferences and practices and of underlying processes governing
Internet use. School counsellors are in a unique position to identify early
signs
of
maladaptive
online
behaviour
guided
by
the
identified
103
characteristics associated with each Digital Outcome. Counsellors should
promote productive and controlled Internet use while acknowledging that
Always Online is the adolescent mode of being.
Countries that do not offer counselling services in school should consider
building a network of counsellors who can address online safety and IAB
issues as a top priority. Train-the–Trainers initiatives are an excellent way to
build professional networks and advance the breadth and quality of Internet
safety counselling provision. In Poland professional training for psychologist
and counsellors regarding Internet Addictive Behaviour is strongly needed.
There are very few counsellors specialised in this field. Also in Iceland
professional training for school counsellors on Internet Addictive Behaviour
is warranted and different counselling services for treatment are
coordinated on a national level. In Greece such an initiative is the Ariadne
programme19, an educational programme of professionals (counsellors,
teachers and doctors) on issues of online safety and Internet Addictive
Behaviours. In the Netherlands training is provided by the Center for
Behavioural Internet Science. Counsellors and mental health professionals
who deal with internet safety could apply for a training programme and
materials. In Germany policymakers are actually focusing on school mediaeducation programs which is a logical consequence in preparation for the
serious mental health concern IAB. Considering the latest inclusion of
Internet Gaming Disorder in the DSM-V a need for prevention and
intervention programs becomes evident. Furthermore, on a European level
health insurances will be involved in this matter, if IAB is going to be
included into the upcoming revision of the ICD in 2015 (ICD-11). Up to now,
including IAB under the chapter “Mental and behavioural disorders” seems a
realistic scenario (cf. Mann, 2013).
19
http://ariadni.med.uoa.gr/
104
6.5 POLICY MAKERS
Based on the strong interrelation between online use and offline
engagement revealed in our study, national educational curricula could
consider
widening
the
breadth
and
depth
of
extra-curricular
opportunities offered to adolescents. Involvement in extracurricular
activities fuels personal and interpersonal developmental processes (Larson,
2000; Larson & Walker, 2006) and may for today’s adolescents constitute a
protective factor against excessive online engagement or maladaptive
online use. Opportunities should be offered for extracurricular activities to
be integrated into school programmes and incentives for participation could
be granted through the school system. After-school programmes need to
promote a wider range of modern-day competencies, such as selfdetermination, emotional adjustment, identity development, optimism
towards the future and other developmental skills (Lerner, 2004).
Engagement in such programmes is particularly significant in light of the
pervasive lack of engagement in classrooms and in unstructured activities
outside of school (Shernoff, 2010). Research has shown that the positive
development of youth occurs through a constellation of resources including
families, schools and communities collectively providing physical safety,
developmentally appropriate structure, behavioural expectations, emotional
support and opportunities to contribute to one’s community (Eccles &
Gootman, 2002). Model curricula that include physical and creative
activities along with volunteer work in the community, such as the
International Baccalaureate Diploma Program Creativity-Action-Service
(CAS) requirement, can be used as a guide on how to integrate
extracurricular involvement within the school system.
105
6.6 INDUSTRY (SELF-)REGULATION
Digital
pathways’
developmental
progression
pathways
should
and
their
guide
robust
industry’s
interrelations
decisions
on
to
age
restrictions for subscription in online platforms, such as social networking
platforms. It appears that social media use is governed by complex
underlying social processes and skills that cannot easily be negotiated in the
pre- or early teen years − primarily due to relative immaturity in socioemotional development. As such, it is the industry’s responsibility to set
age-appropriate limits for participation in social media and to employ all
necessary measures to enforce these age limitations. Unfortunately,
despite intense debate on the need for age verification for subscription to
social media platforms, the measure has not been implemented as yet,
primarily due to technical and legal challenges. Many “under age” children
(below specified age requirements) are using social media and this should be
taken into account by service providers in their safety policy and default
privacy settings. A pro-active approach by the industry is essential. Industry
broad-based self-regulatory initiatives can be an effective way to ensure
and enforce minors online safety. One such self-regulatory measure is the
Safer Social Networking Principles for the EU20, an initiative aimed to
maximize social networks’ benefits while managing risks to children and
young people. The Principles provide good practice guidelines for providers
summarized in seven principles that were signed originally by 14 SNS
providers in 2009 and subsequently monitored by the EU (Staksrud & Lobe,
2010; Donoso, 2011). The Principles can optimally function parallel to ongoing local industry initiatives including awareness campaigns, which
should account for local contextual and technological conditions. Moreover,
industry’s partnership with local welfare organisations (childcare, legal
rights) may be fruitful.
20
https://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/sites/digital-agenda/files/sn_principles.pdf
106
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Yang, S., & Tung C. (2007). Comparison of Internet addicts and non-addicts
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Ybarra, M. K., Alexander, C., & Mitchell, K. (2005). Depressive
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Young, K. S. (1996). Internet addiction: The emergence of a new clinical
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121
ANNEX
A.
INTERVIEW SCHEDULE
EU NET ADB WP5 Revised Interview Schedule (IS-2R)
PART A: Warm up
1. To begin with, could you tell me a few things about yourself? Perhaps you
could start with your date of birth, where you grew up, your hobbies, the
things you like or dislike or anything else you want to refer to. During
your narration I will listen carefully and I am not going to interrupt your
flow of words.
2. What is it that made you decide to participate in the present study and
share your personal experience regarding Internet use?
3. Could you also describe to me an ordinary day in your life?
[Allow for narration]
a. How would you characterise it?
b. How do you think you handle your daily responsibilities?
Part B: Internet initiation, evolution, current use, and daily life
1. Tell me a bit about your story regarding Internet use. You may want to
start with how you first started using the Internet and how your personal
usage developed?
Prompt (if needed): Perhaps you could tell me about changes [focus and
explore changes] which you have noticed in how you use the Internet. I
mean if something has changed since you first started using the Internet.
2. Which devices are you using to connect online?
Prompts (if needed): Laptop, mobile device, Xbox
Prompt: In what situations do you use each of these devices?
3. So, at present what is the average time you spend using the Internet per
day and how does that compare with your peers?
- Do you consider this amount of time as appropriate or common?
122
4. How do you typically use the Internet? I mean, what kind of Internet
applications do you mostly use?
a. What is it that you like about these applications?
b. is there anything you would have like to change now in the way you
are using these applications?
c. How is X application [state application of preference] related to your
peers?
d. What do you think children of your age like mostly about the Internet,
and how they use it in general?
e. What do you think about peers who do not use Facebook or are not
into gaming?
5. Have you, in the past or present, faced barriers or constraints in using the
Internet in the way that you would have liked to use it?
a. If yes, what kind of barriers were these?
Prompt (if needed): Like for instance age restrictions to subscribe to
some sites, or parental constraints?
b. How do/did you handle these barriers and constraints?
c. Any self-restrictions?
6. How would you characterize yourself in terms of Internet use? [Explore
the narration]
7. Could you please describe your lifestyle?
[Note to translator: may need to use word lifestyle in English if
translation alternative not optimal for adolescents]
Prompt (only if participant is having a difficulty responding to the
question): What are some habits, interests, priorities, goals or values you
hold in your everyday life?
a. How is it related to the Internet?
b. Have there been any lifestyle changes that were based on your
Internet use or habits changed in relation to the Internet?
123
8. Have there been any days or periods, when you used the Internet in a
much different way to your common way of usage?
Prompts (if needed): I am referring to amount of usage, using much more
or much less than typically.
- Now please remember the last day you did not use the Internet AT
ALL. Can you tell me about that day?
Prompt (if needed): How did this day affect your feelings, thoughts or
behaviour, if it did?
PART C: Needs met
1. You mentioned that what you like the most about the Internet is XXXX
(explicit reference to participant’s applications of preference). Now I
would like you to think and describe to me your emotions a) before going
online to use these applications b) while being online c) before logout
and d) while being offline. You could use examples of relevant situations
that come in mind.
Prompts:
a. Do you notice for instance saying: “Just five minutes more on the
Internet” before logging off?
b. When is this more likely to happen? Please describe to me such a
typical situation that comes to your mind.
2. What is in your opinion the most important reason that makes you use the
Internet in the way you do?
Prompts:
a. Is boredom related to your Internet use and how would you explain
this?
b. Do you use the Internet in particular when being in certain mood?
c. (optional) Try to describe how often you are the first to use an
Internet-application in your circle of friends or in your family.
d. (optional) What does the reaction by your friend or family look like
when the notice that you are using a new Internet-application?
3. What do you think your parents think about the way YOU are using the
Internet?
4. If some of your friends are overusing the Internet, do you have an idea
why this happens?
124
5. Now think of yourself when you are in the Internet world compared to
your life outside the Internet. Are there any differences or similarities in
the way you behave, feel or communicate with others? Prompt (if
needed): In your opinion are these two worlds similar or different and in
what ways?
6. Now I would like to ask whether you have ever visited any sites meant for
adults only. If yes can you tell me what was your motive to do so and how
did it affect you if it did? Prompt (if needed): E.g. online poker or
pornographic pages.
PART D: Self-perceived repercussions
1. From your experience so far what do you believe to be the advantages of
Internet use for adolescents? Has it brought any positive changes in your
everyday? (e.g. homework, communication, etc.)
2. And what do you believe to be the disadvantages of Internet use, if any?
Has it brought any negative changes in your everyday life so far?
Prompts (optional):
- How do you find time?
- How does it affect other activities?
- How does it affect your schoolwork?
- Have you experienced any problems associated with Internet use?
- If cyberbullying was mentioned: Please tell me a bit about how this
happened and how you handled it.
- Many people say that the Internet does not forget anything. Are there
any things inside the Internet about yourself, which you would like to
erase? (If yes: Please describe why THIS was saved online and how this
affected your thoughts.)
3. In summary how would you say the way you evolved as an Internet user
has affected you and your life in general?
Prompts (if needed):
- Did it affect the way you communicate with others in real life?
- How has social networks affected the way you see yourself and the way
you relate to others?
- Biggest SNS vs. 2nd biggest SNS in your country [Facebook or please use
the country-specific most relevant alternative to Facebook]
125
PART E: Personal aims in regard to Internet use
1. Would you imagine your Internet use changing in a few years’ time?
IF YES: Ask for reasons and proceed with Q2.
2. Would you want to change your patterns and habits regarding Internet
use?
IF YES: What are the reasons you want so and how would you expect
this effort to be?
3. What would be the conditions or people that would facilitate you to do
so?
4. A world without the Internet: What would this mean to you? What would
change for you?
5. What would turn the offline world more interesting for you?
6. As last question, I would like to ask you one of the first questions of this
interview. Before you answer this question, could you please pause for a
moment and think about the different facts we just talked about? So, the
question is: Could you please try to tell me about the role that the
computer and the Internet have in your life? While answering please try
to integrate some relevant examples of your own story. I will listen
carefully.
Thank You.
126
B.
DETAILED PARTICIPANT TABLES (PER COUNTRY)
TABLE 8. DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH COUN TRY’S PARTICIPANTS WITH RECRUITMENT AND INTERVIEW DETAILS
Phase 3
Phase 2
Phase 1
Phase
Participant
Ref.
Interview
er
Gender
Duration
GR01
GR02
ET
FM
M
M
GR03
ET
M
Grade
School
performance
ΙΑΤ
Score
Type of
residence
location
WP4 pool
Snowball from GR3
Rising 10th
Rising 11th
Average
Above average
43
40
Sub-Urban
Urban
Snowball from WP4
Rising 10th
Above average
43
Urban
Age
Recruitment
Type
50’
48’
14
16
58’
15
th
GR04
GR05
GR06
GR07
GR08
GR09
GR10
GR11
GR12
GR13
GR14
GR15
GR16
GR17
FM
FM
ET
ET
FM
FM
ET
ET
ET
ET
FM
FM
ET
ET
F
F
F
F
F
M
F
F
M
M
F
F
F
M
37’
50’
50’
58’
55’
50’
61’
65’
57’
52’
50’
50’
59’
59’
16
16
14
15
16
16
14
15
16
15
16
16
15
15
AHU intake
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
10
10th
9th
10th
10th
10th
9th
10th
10th
10th
10th
10th
10th
10th
Above average
Average
Above
15
Above
Above
Above
N.A.
N.A.
Above
Average
Above average
Average
Average
65
55
60
58
46
48
61
40
54
47
50
35
37
31
Rural
Urban
Urban
Urban
Urban
Urban
Urban
Urban
Urban
Urban
Urban
Urban
Rural
Rural
GR18
FM
M
42’
16
School-based
10th
Above
32
Sub-Urban
GR19
FM
M
45’
16
School-based
10th
Below
71
Sub-Urban
Average
30
Sub-Urban
GR20
AS
M
38’
15
School-based
th
9
127
Phase 1
Phase
Participant
Ref.
Interview
er
Gender
Duration
SP01
MG
M
62’
SP02
SP03
SP04
Phase 2
SP05
SP06
Phase 1
SP07
Phase 2
SP08
SP09
SP10
SP11
SP12
SP13
Phase 3
SP14
SP15
SP16
SP17
SP18
SP19
SP20
AG
AG
AG
IA
IA
AG
MG
MG
MG
IA
AG
AG
AG
AG
AG
AG
AG
AG
AG
M
F
M
M
F
F
F
M
F
M
M
M
M
M
M
F
M
F
F
54’
41’
42’
52’
54’
37’
40’
37’
43’
50’
61’
55’
45’
64’
48’
42’
47’
39’
38’
Grade
School
performance
ΙΑΤ
Score
Type of
residence
location
School-based
10th
Average
51
Urban
School-based
th
Average
45
Urban
th
Above average
46
Urban
th
Average
54
Urban
th
Average
71
Sub-Urban
th
Above average
63
Sub-Urban
th
Below average
52
Urban
th
Average
40
Urban
th
Above average
40
Urban
th
Average
47
Urban
th
Average
74
Sub-Urban
th
Above average
31
Sub-Urban
th
Average
50
Sub-Urban
th
Average
53
Sub-Urban
th
Above average
39
Sub-Urban
th
Above average
55
Urban
th
Below average
44
Urban
th
Above average
43
Urban
th
Average
41
Urban
th
Average
42
Urban
Age
Recruitment
Type
16
16
16
16
17
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
17
16
17
16
16
16
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
128
Phase 1
Phase
Participant
Ref.
Interview
er
Gender
Duration
PL01
JW
M
PL02
JW
F
Type of
residence
location
School-based
11th
N.A.
53
Sub-Urban
School-based
11th
N.A.
51
Sub-Urban
th
Age
25’
15
22’
16
JW
M
20’
16
School-based
11
N.A.
52
Sub-Urban
PL04
KM
M
37’
16
School-based
11th
N.A.
52
Sub-Urban
School-based
th
N.A.
90
Sub-Urban
th
N.A.
38
Urban
th
N.A.
35
Urban
th
N.A.
30
Sub-Urban
th
N.A.
34
Sub-Urban
th
N.A.
39
Sub-Urban
th
N.A.
34
Sub-Urban
th
N.A.
36
Urban
th
N.A.
59
Urban
th
N.A.
81
Urban
th
N.A.
39
Urban
th
PL06
PL07
PL08
PL09
Phase 2
ΙΑΤ
Score
PL03
PL05
PL10
PL11
PL12
PL13
PL14
PL15
Phase 3
Grade
School
performance
Recruitment
Type
KM
JW
JW
KM
ZW
ZW
KM
ZW
JW
KM
JW
F
M
F
F
F
F
M
F
M
F
M
20’
42’
38’
44’
38’
31’
40’
33’
38’
42’
37’
16
15
15
16
15
15
15
15
15
15
15
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
11
11
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
PL16
KM
F
42’
15
School-based
10
N.A.
49
Rural
PL17
JW
M
39’
15
School-based
10th
N.A.
30
Sub-Urban
th
PL18
KM
F
30’
15
School-based
10
N.A.
58
Urban
PL19
JW
M
37’
15
School-bases
11th
N.A.
33
Urban
School-based
th
N.A.
47
Urban
PL20
JW
M
32’
15
10
129
Phase
Participant
Ref.
Interview
er
Gender
Duration
D01
MD
F
D02
KM
M
D03
Phase 1
D04
D05
ED
F
M
Type of
residence
location
School-based
10th
Above average
41
Sub-Urban
School-based
10th
Below average
59
Urban
School-based
th
Average
41
Rural
th
Average
40
Sub-Urban
th
Average
61
Rural
th
Age
40’
15
39’
15
41’
35’
61’
16
16
15
School-based
School-based
11
10
10
MD
M
70’
15
School-based
10
Average
40
Rural
D07
KW
M
53’
16
School-based
11th
Above average
53
Rural
School-based
th
Average
45
Rural
th
Average
48
Sub-Urban
th
Above average
40
Sub-Urban
th
D09
D10
Phase 2
MD
M
ΙΑΤ
Score
D06
D08
MD
MD
KW
M
F
F
38’
35’
37’
16
16
15
School-based
School-based
11
10
10
D11
MD
M
43’
16
School-based
10
Average
58
Urban
D12
MD
F
51’
16
School-based
10th
Below average
44
Urban
School-based
th
Below average
59
Urban
th
Below average
48
Urban
th
Average
48
Urban
th
Below average
68
Urban
th
Below average
Average
Above average
Average
67
61
82
49
Urban
Urban
Urban
Sub-Urban
D13
D14
D15
D16
Phase 3
MD
Grade
School
performance
Recruitment
Type
D17
D18
D19
D20
KM
KM
ED
ED
MD
MD
MD
MD
F
M
F
F
F
M
M
F
43’
38’
42’
44’
37’
42’
40’
37’
16
15
16
15
16
16
15
15
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
School-based
10
10
10
10
10
10th
9th
9th
130
Phase 3
Phase 2
Phase 1
Phase
Grade
School
performance
ΙΑΤ
Score
Type of
residence
location
WP4 pool
10th
Average
42
Rural
16
WP4 pool
10th
Above average
43
Urban
47’
16
WP4 pool
10th
Average
41
Urban
M
38’
17
WP4 pool
10th
Average
42
Urban
AI
M
51’
16
WP6 pool
10th
Above average
32
Urban
RO06
GM
F
38’
16
WP6 pool
10th
Above average
31
Urban
RO07
AI
F
44’
16
WP6 pool
10th
Average
30
Rural
RO08
AI
M
78’
16
WP6 pool
10th
Average
35
Urban
RO09
AI
M
42’
17
WP6 pool
10th
Average
38
Urban
RO10
AI
F
55’
16
WP6 pool
10th
Average
43
Urban
RO11
AI
F
65’
16
WP6 pool
10th
Above average
31
Urban
RO12
AI
M
88’
16
WP6 pool
10th
Above average
30
Urban
RO13
AI
F
59’
17
WP6 pool
10th
Average
56
Rural
RO14
AI
F
69’
16
WP6 pool
10th
Average
59
Urban
RO15
AI
F
63’
16
WP6 pool
10th
Average
61
Urban
RO16
GM
F
45’
17
WP6 pool
10th
Average
32
Urban
Participant
Ref.
Interview
er
Age
Recruitment
Type
Gender
Duration
RO01
ET
M
61’
16
RO02
GM
F
53’
RO03
ET
M
RO04
ET
RO05
131
Phase 3
Phase 2
Phase 1
Phase
Grade
School
performance
ΙΑΤ
Score
Type of
residence
location
Forum Internet
10th
Average
52
Rural
16
Forum Internet
11th
Average
46
Rural
43’
16
Forum Internet
10th
Below average
44
Rural
M
42’
15
Forum Internet
10th
Above average
37
Urban
LD
M
30’
16
School-based
10th
Above average
37
Rural
NL06
LD
M
33’
16
School-based
10th
Average
30
Rural
NL07
LD
M
38’
15
School-based
10th
Above average
33
Rural
NL08
LD
M
40’
16
School-based
10th
Average
43
Urban
NL09
LD
M
45’
16
School-based
11th
Average
37
Rural
NL10
AG
M
58’
16
School-based
9th
Average
44
Rural
NL11
AG
M
30’
15
Forum Internet
10th
Below average
51
Rural
NL12
AG
M
45’
15
School-based
10th
Average
34
Rural
NL13
AG
M
44’
16
School-based
10th
Average
34
Rural
NL14
AG
M
46’
16
School-based
N.A.
Average
74
Rural
NL15
LD
F
45’
16
School-based
10th
Average
80
Rural
NL16
LD
F
36’
16
School-based
10th
Below average
32
Urban
Participant
Ref.
Interview
er
Age
Recruitment
Type
Gender
Duration
NL01
MA
M
62’
16
NL02
MA
M
48’
NL03
MA
F
NL04
LD
NL05
132
Phase 3
Phase
Grade
School
performance
ΙΑΤ
Score
Type of
residence
location
School-based
10th
Below average
38
Sub-Urban
15
School-based
10th
Above average
37
Urban
28’
15
School-based
10th
Above average
36
Rural
M
32’
14
School-based
9th
Average
39
Sub-Urban
TR
M
24’
15
School-based
10th
Below average
49
Sub-Urban
IS06
TR
M
40’
14
School-based
9th
Average
69
Sub-Urban
IS07
TR
M
23’
14
School-based
9th
Below average
58
Sub-Urban
IS08
TR
M
45’
15
School-based
10th
Averagebelow average
63
Sub-Urban
IS09
HG
F
80’
14
School-based
9th
Above average
38
Sub-Urban
IS10
HG
M
91’
15
School-based
10th
Below average
45
Sub-Urban
IS11
TR
M
36’
15
School-based
10th
N.A.
68
Sub-Urban
IS12
VO
F
58’
17
School-based
10th
Above average
57
Urban
Participant
Ref.
Interview
er
Age
Recruitment
Type
Gender
Duration
IS01
TI
M
56’
15
IS02
BV
F
52’
IS03
TI
F
IS04
TR
IS05
133
C.
ANALYSIS SUPPLEMENTARY TABLES OF EMERGED CONCEPTS AND PROPERTIES PER AXIAL CATEGORY
TABLE 9. AXIAL 1 GROWING INTO A CONTENT CREATOR: C ONCEPTS, PROPERTIES, CONTEXTUAL LAYERS AND THEMES
Context
Concepts
Layer
Self as user
Properties
(and dimensions)
Learning style (assisted to observational to self-learning)
Recollecting Initiation
Content Creation
(Vividness: from recent-distinct memory to distant-vague
Learning style (assisted to observational to self-learning)
Peers
Parents
Routine
Online Peer Friending practices
Online Norms
Exclusion Avoidance
New Social Etiquette
Have to Have Comments
Peers mediating online pathways
Greater Freedom
Diminished parental mediation
Role reversal
Parental ambivalence
Changing parental role, control and practices
Teen routine: Loaded vs. Boring
Changing adolescent routine:
(Loosened to on-going parental restrictions)
(from boredom to burden)
134
TABLE 10. AXIAL 2 CONCEPTS, PROPERTIES − ADOLESCENT THIRST
Concepts
Properties
Online Peer Norms
Online friending practices
Socially mediated initiation and discovery
Internet Overtaking Routine
Net Talk
Need for connection to peers and the world
Curiosity for information
Need for Self-searching
Need for action
From child as comsumer (online imitation) to Grown into a content creator
Need for speed
Always online and Checking out
Proximal and distant sources of influence
Boredom and Burden
Use shaping personality
Bypassing connection barriers
Handling parental control
Practical restrictions in accessing ne
Parental monitoring of use and restrictive practices
135
TABLE 11. AXIAL 3 CONCEPTS, PROPERTIES − ALWAYS ONLINE AND CH ECKING OUT
Concepts
Degree of online engagement: Always Online
Permanency
Properties (and dimensions)
Permanent online engagement: Always
online(continuous/permanent or intermittent)
Sustaining contact: Checking out
Sustaining Connection
(Effortful and Proactive to Laissez-faire)
Avoid missing out
Checking out
Investing Effort Ensuring Connectivity
Multi-tabbing and multi-tasking
(low to intense)
Multi-tabbing engagement “online but not looking”
Internet turning automatic and habitual: Element of Life
Multi-tasking
(low … to intense)
Automaticity
Habitual − “an element of life”
136
TABLE 12. AXIAL 4 CONCEPTS, PROPERTIES − FROM EASING ADOLESCENCE TO EM POWERING SELF
Concepts
Properties
Online befriending practices
Interaction facilitated on social media
Sharing online
On social networking: to see and to be seen
Fear of exclusion
Virtual world of unbounded possibilities
Real world with its restrictions
Easing
Quenching thirst for knowledge, Learning by cutting corners
Seeking fun and entertainment
Gamers’ characteristics and gaming motivation
My photos-self representations
My avatar virtual world:
- Impersonation and fulfilment
- Boosting self on social media
Assessing Internet´s role in life
Net altering behaviour/mood and invading teen culture
Bypassing online risks: Self-control and discipline
Overcoming and hiding personal characteristics and behaviour
(Privacy-identity risks − Content-permanency)
Data security risks
Net as a coping mechanism
Hidden behind the screen: do anything and be anyone you like
Personal risks and potential impact on wellbeing
137
D. EU NET ADB PROJECT
OVERVIEW
The EU NET ADB project is funded from 2010-2012 by the EC’s Safer Internet
Programme.
The project aims to enhance knowledge of the studied European adolescents’
experiences regarding functional and dysfunctional Internet use. The EU NET
ADB project has conducted a survey of adolescents’ experiences of Internet
behaviour in seven European countries. It generated a substantial body of data
rigorously collected and cross nationally comparable in order to investigate
prevalence, associated factors and consequences of Internet addictive
behavioural patterns. The findings will be disseminated through a series of
reports and presentations during 2012-13.
OBJECTIVES
1. To evaluate the prevalence and determinants of Internet Addictive
Behaviour among the studied European adolescents;
2. To increase awareness among associated stakeholders and the public;
3. To enhance the knowledge base required for the development of public
health strategies, fully relating to the EC’s call and objectives.
WORK PACKAGES
Six work packages have been designed to meet these objectives:
WP1:
WP2:
WP3:
WP4:
WP5:
Project Management
Project Assessment and Evaluation
Dissemination of Project Results
Methodology of the Research Requirements Specification
Qualitative Assessment of the Determinants and Development
associated with Addictive Internet Use among European
Adolescents
WP6: Quantitative Evaluation of the Prevalence and Risk Factors of
Internet Addictive Behaviour among European Adolescents
138
INTERNATIONAL ADVISO RY BOARD FOR THE QUALITATIVE STUDY
Helsper, Ellen, Ph.D., Department of Media and Communications,
London School of Economics, UK.
Karakitsou, Chryssoula, M.Sc., Ph.D., Deree, The American College of
Greece, Athens, Greece.
Kokkevi, Anna, Ph.D., Section of Epidemiology Research and Prevention
in the fields of Drug Abuse and Psychosocial Health Promotion of the
University Mental Health Research Institute (UMHRI), Athens, Greece.
Merrick, Joav, MD, MMedSci, DMSc, Department of Pediatrics, HadassahHebrew University Medical Center, Mount Scopus Campus, Jerusalem,
Israel.
Shahtahmasebi, Said, Ph.D., Centre for Health and Social Practice at
http://www.linkedin.com/company/509743?trk=pro_other_cmpy,
Hamilton, New Zealand.
Shek Tan-lei, Daniel, PhD, BBS, JP, Department of Applied Social
Sciences Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, the Hong Kong
Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.
EXTERNAL ADVISORS FOR THE QUALITATIVE STUDY
Das, Ranjana, Ph.D., University of Leicester, Department of Media &
Communications Bankfield House, Leicester, United Kingdom.
Greydanus, Donald E., MD, FAAP, FSAM, FIAP (H), Pediatric Department
Chair and Pediatric Program Director, Western Michigan University,
School of Medicine, Michigan, USA.
Staksrud, Elisabeth, Ph.D., Department of Media and Communication,
University of Oslo, Norway.
139
E.
EU NET ADB PROJECT MEMBERS
Country
1
Greece
Institution
Artemis Tsitsika [email protected]
Mari Janikian [email protected]
Eleni Tzavela [email protected]
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
(N.K.U.A.), Adolescent Health Unit (A.H.U.),
Second Department of Paediatrics,
24 Mesogeion Ave., Goudi 11527, Athens, Greece
Team Members
Artemis Tsitsika
Mari Janikian
Eleni Tzavela
George Antonogeorgos
Foteini Mavromati
Elena Critselis
Kalliopi Athanasiou
Vicky Dimitrakopoulou
Sotiria Nika
Athanasios Kyritsis
Stavroula Georgiadi
Ana Oliaga San Atilano [email protected]
PROTEGELES,
2
Spain
Ana Oliaga San Atilano
C/ José Echegaray nº8 Edif.3 28230 Las Rozas
(Madrid), Spain
3
Poland
Szymon Wójcik [email protected]
Katarzyna Makaruk [email protected]
Nobody’s Children Foundation (NCF),
31 Katowicka Street 03-932 Warsaw, Poland
4
Germany
Ana Luiza Rotta Soares
Peter Behrens [email protected]
Sebastian Holtz [email protected]
The Central Authority for Media and
Communication in Rhineland Palatinate (LMK),
Melissa Gómez Seago
Szymon Wójcik
Katarzyna Makaruk
Joanna Włodarczyk
Zofia Włodarczyk
Peter Behrens
Sebastian Holtz
Isabell Tatsch
Thomas Rathgeb
Turmstraße 10, Postfach 21 7263,
67072 Ludwigshafen, Germany
140
5
Germany
Michael Dreier [email protected]
Klaus Wölfling [email protected]
Eva Duven [email protected]
Outpatient Clinic for Computer Game and
Internet Addictive Behaviour Mainz/ Clinic
and Polyclinic for Psychosomatic Medicine
and Psychotherapy at the University Medical
Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University
Mainz (UMC-Mainz),
M. E. Beutel
Klaus Wölfling
Michael Dreier
Kai W. Müller
Eva Duven
Untere Zahlbacher Straße 8
55131 Mainz, Germany
6
Romania
Gabriela Elena Chele
[email protected]
Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and
Pharmacy Iasi (UMF),
Str. Universitatii nr.16 700115 Iasi, Romania
7
Netherlands
Tim Schoenmakers [email protected]
IVO Addiction Research Institute,
Heemraadssingel 194
Cristinel Ştefănescu
Gabriela Elena Chele
George Florian Macarie
Manuela Apostol
Ana Voichiţa Tebeanu
Iordache Andreea
Tim Schoenmakers
Lydian Veldhuis
3021 DM Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Kjartan Ólafsson
Eva Halapi
8
Iceland
Kjartan Ólafsson [email protected]
Eva Halapi [email protected]
University of Akureyri (UNAK),
Gunnhildur Helgadottir
Sigrun Vesteinsdottir
Sigrun Sif Joelsdottir
Hjördis Sigursteinsdottir
Nordurslod 2 600 Akureyri, Iceland
Halldor Gudmundsson
Tryggvi Ingason
Solveig Maria Olafsdottir
141

The development of adaptive and maladaptive patterns of Internet

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